


Something Just Like This

by JamesPeppersalt



Series: Fire Emblem: If | Fates: Modern Romances [4]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Childhood Friends, Closeted Character, Coffee Shops, Complete, Feels, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Football | Soccer, Friends to Lovers, Hijinks & Shenanigans, M/M, Secret Relationship, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2018-10-21 01:58:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 59,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10675332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamesPeppersalt/pseuds/JamesPeppersalt
Summary: Siegbert, studious and calm, has little in common with his childhood friend, Shiro, who he had been reunited with after both were admitted to the same boarding school. Despite their differences, the two still find a way to fall in love— but although they care for each other deeply, they decide to keep their relationship quiet from their friends and family. But with friends as close and families as eccentric as theirs, it might be harder than they previously thought.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [snowysatoru](https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowysatoru/gifts).



> Guess what? I decided to do a fic that WASN'T slow burn! Hahahaha (I was so tired of it...)  
> I was originally going to wait to do my other fics (Leokumi, Corrilas, Oborrin) beforehand but that proved too... tedious and time-consuming and I already had fourteen chapters planned out for this. So, enjoy.  
> [The fic is named after this song.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM7MFYoylVs)

“Are you sure you’re okay, sweetie?”

“I’m fine, Mother. It’s just boarding school; it’s not like I’m joining the military or anything.”

“Yes, I know, but I do worry about you, Siegbert.”

“He’ll be fine, dear; he is our son after all.”

Siegbert chuckled as his mother continued to fiddle with his tie. His uniform was disagreeing with him, which wasn’t a good sign on his first day.

“Are you _sure_ you’ll be fine?” His mother asked again, meeting his eyes and touching his face tenderly with a free hand. “You’re going to be so far away from home…”

“I told you, Mother, I’m _fine._ Nohr’s just a country away,” Siegbert joked. This didn’t reassure her. “Uh, besides— all of my friends go here. It’s not like I’ll be alone. I have all my cousins here, too. And Uncle Corrin and Aunt Kamui live just across the city.”

“You see?” Xander, Siegbert’s father, said, putting a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Siegbert’s growing into a capable young man, dear. We have to trust him.”

“But—”

“He’ll be fine, Charlotte.” Xander winked. “If you can’t trust him, then trust me, eh?”

Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Ugh, you boys are _such_ pains in the _butt_!”

The family laughed, though it was somewhat bittersweet. As excited as Siegbert was, he was a bit nervous. The new boarding school he would be attending was in Valla— between Nohr and Hoshido, but far from his home in Windmire. Being an only child, his parents would be alone without him.

But, he had to look on the bright side— at least here, he’d be with all of his cousins and friends on a regular basis. And it wasn’t like he couldn’t call home whenever he needed. This was just a new start— one that he would surely grow accustomed to.

“Oh, look, there’s your Aunt Azura and Uncle Laslow,” Xander pointed out. Siegbert turned. Sure enough, the two of them were there in the crowd of families saying their farewells, fussing over their children, Shigure and Soleil. Shigure looked strained, but he was forcing a smile and assuring his parents— both crying— that he would be alright, while Soleil attempted to cheer everyone up with a beaming face. While Azura only had a few tears in the corners of her eyes, Laslow was bawling, probably saying something about how he was going to miss his precious children.

Siegbert was thankful that his parents weren’t quite so teary.

Xander cleared his throat, drawing his son’s attention once more. “At any rate… do you have everything you need?”

“Yes father.”

“Do you still have all your papers from orientation?”

“Of course,” Siegbert confirmed, nodding.

“And you’re going to get exemplary grades, I hope?”

Siegbert laughed. “Well, I certainly hope so!”

“And no getting in trouble,” Xander added.

“Oh, please, Xander,” Charlotte scoffed, “Sieggy’s a good boy. Besides, he know that if he steps even a toe out of line, _I’ll eviscerate him_.”

Siegbert grew pale. “Uh… thanks for the nice thought, Mom.”

“Oh, teehee!” His mother waved a hand, returning to a daintier demeanor. “Just kidding! I know you’d never do anything to deserve that. Don’t mind me, darling!”

“Er, right, ha ha…” Siegbert chuckled. He glanced back at the school.

His parents sighed with melancholy.

“Well… hey,” Siegbert suggested, “I could show you around, at least the parts of the school I saw in orientation. And I could walk you to my room! I haven’t seen it yet!”

“Oh, that sounds lovely!” Charlotte gushed, clapping her hands together. “We could help you get situated! I just _loved_ the look of the dorms in the brochure!”

“Yeah, well…” Siegbert chuckled. “I still have to find my room and roommate assignments, so… here’s hoping it will be satisfactory.”

 

***

 

“Quit slouching.”

“Sure thing, Pops.”

“And don’t be so informal; you have to make a good impression.”

Shiro sighed, rolling his eyes. “C’mon, Dad, it’s boarding school, not _prison_. Though it might as well be.”

Ryoma scoffed. “Don’t get cute with me. You’re lucky to have this opportunity at all.”

“Yeah, yeah, ‘great opportunity’, ‘expanding my future’ and all that,” Shiro guffawed in a mocking tone. “Well, if it’s such a _great_ opportunity, why do all my cousins _also_ get to go? Even _Kiragi_ is here!”

“Don’t make fun of your cousin just to make yourself look better.”

“I wasn’t—” Shiro groaned. “Ugh. _Fine_.” He grabbed his duffel bag and the handle of the suitcase. “Can we just _go_ already?”

Ryoma rolled his eyes and sighed, picking up the rest of his son’s luggage. “You’re lucky your mother isn’t here.”

“Oh, what would she do? Emasculate you with the fact that she could carry everything without help?”

“Shiro, _behave_. I want you to leave a good impression. And so far, you’re doing a poor job.”

“Thanks, pops. Care to make any more wise inputs, or can we _get to my room_?”

Ryoma sighed and followed his son to the building’s entrance. Inside, a secretary greeted them cheerily. Shiro waved back with a grin, but his father grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him along.

“Ow! Dad! _Stop it_!”

“We _have_ priorities,” Ryoma reminded him. “I can’t have you flirting with the staff.”

“I wasn’t _flirting_!” Shiro growled, twisting out of his father’s grip. “C’mon, then, I’ve got to go to the registrar. _Unless_ you want to drag my around by my neck. Like a dog. _Again_.”

Ryoma only grumbled in reply.

The two made their way to the registrar in almost complete silence. Shiro, in his head, lamented slightly that it was always like this. As much as he’d always gotten along with his mother, his father was a completely different story.

“Where’s your room?” Ryoma asked after Shiro had retrieved his papers, leaning over his son’s shoulder, the animosity in his voice gone. This happened sometimes— they’d go from fighting every second to buds in no-time flat. It had annoyed Shiro’s mother to no end.

“Mm… third floor of the residence hall, room 212A,” Shiro said, shoving the papers into the pockets of his drawstring shorts after giving them a quick glossing-over.

“And your roommate?”

“…Siegbert,” he answered from memory. Shiro paused, then quickly dug the rooming assignments out. “Wait— Siegbert? As in, Siegbert-Xander’s-son, Siegbert?”

Ryoma chuckled. “I don’t think anyone else is unfortunate enough to bear that name.”

“Ah, sweet!” Shiro said, cracking a smile. “I used to play with Sieg all the time as a kid. It’s been a while since we talked. I can’t believe we were assigned to the same room!”

“Well, Siegbert’s a good egg,” Ryoma mused. “If anyone can keep you in line, it’s him.”

“Ha, ha. Real funny, Dad.” Despite trying to feign annoyance, Shiro couldn’t help but smile. He’d actually missed Siegbert. Though the two weren’t related, they did share a few mutual aunts, uncles, and cousins in their big, dysfunctional extended family. They’d been friends growing up. Shiro was sure they could still be friends now.

“Ryoma, is that you?”

“Saizo!” Ryoma called, turning around. There stood Saizo, a friend of Ryoma’s from work, and his son Asugi, longtime-friend of Shiro’s. “It’s good to see you!”

As the two fathers made their greetings, Asugi shuffled silently towards Shiro. “Your dad been griping on you too?”

Shiro made a popping noise with his mouth. “Yee-ep.”

“That sucks.” Asugi shrugged. “My dad’s been so happy to be rid of me. I think he may have actually cried on the way here.”

“Really? Saizo? Cry?”

“Okay, so maybe that’s a stretch, but still.”

Asugi pulled a sucker out of his pockets, but immediately, his father yelled, “Asugi! I thought I’d confiscated the last of your candy!”

Asugi slowly re-wrapped the sweet and returned it to his pocket. “…What sucker?”

Saizo rolled his good eye. “It’s like pulling teeth— luckily, he’ll never have to experience that, because they’ll _all rot and fall out_.”

“Dentures are rad,” Asugi mumbled under his breath before sneaking some jellybeans from somewhere in his attire and popping them into his mouth before his father noticed.

“Oh, by the way,” Asugi continued as their fathers picked up their conversation once again, “we share a suit.”

“Really? No way!”

“Yep. Shigure and I will be a wall away from you and Siegbert.”

“ _Nice_ ,” Shiro said, fist-bumping his friend.

“Alright, boys, if you’re done fooling around,” Ryoma interrupted, coming up and tousling their hair, “we should get going, eh?”

“Yeah,” Shiro began, pushing his father’s arm away playfully. “We should go see our rooms, right?”

“Mm… maybe in a minute.” Asugi grinned. “I wanna check out the food court first.”

Saizo smacked his son on the back of the head. “Do you _ever_ think about anything other than food?” The stoic man sighed, wrapping an arm around his son. “Well, I’ll see you later, Ryoma.” He winked at Shiro. “Try to keep up with this one, huh?”

“Ha! He’ll turn all my hair grey before I can keep up with him,” Ryoma laughed as the father and son walked away.

“Well, we’d best get going,” Shiro said, turning and walking off. “C’mon, old man.” He chuckled. “Keep up.”

 

***

 

“Sh… Shiro?”

“Oh, Ryoma’s son?” Xander chuckled. “That Ryoma’s a fine man. I’m sure his son has grown into an astounding young man.”

Siegbert simply nodded, but his mother interrupted with, “Ah… I don’t know, Xander. From what I’ve heard from your mutual relatives, Shiro’s a bit… _different_ from his father.”

“Oh, that can’t possibly be the case,” Xander laughed. “Remember when he was little and played with our son? He was always so athletically inclined. He used to drag Sieggy on all his little adventures!”

“Yeah, but you two haven’t seen him since the last family summer retreat. And that was _years_ age. And I heard from Leo…”

“Pfft, Leo’s just dramatic,” Xander chuckled. “He can find fault anywhere.”

Charlotte sighed. “Oh, well.” She winked at her son. “I’m sure that if there’s any trouble, you’ll straighten him out, Sieg.”

Siegbert laughed. “Er… sure, Mother.”

“Well, there’s no use standing around _here_ ,” Charlotte declared suddenly. “Let’s get to your room. It’s on the third floor, right?”

“Yes, Mother. Oh, no— here,” he said as she reached for his bags, “let me—”

“Ha, nope!” Charlotte chuckled, pushing him away with ease. “Let your mom carry this stuff for you. Trust me, I can handle it!”

Siegbert was sure that she could, but honestly her strength scared him sometimes.

The family walked through the main building, walking past many friends and family. Siegbert saw his Aunt Camilla with her husband and daughter, cooing and fussing over her. Siegbert new that as much as Nina complained about how fussy and coddling her mother was, she _vastly_ preferred it to her father’s distance. They also heard, but didn’t see, a few relatives in the crowd.

“And you’re _sure_ you’ll be okay?”

“I’ll be fine, Daddy! I have everything I need.”

“She’ll be fine, Silas.”

“Yeah, listen to Papa! Besides, you’ll have my little sister at home. It’s not like you’re saying goodbye to your only little girl!”

“Oh, is that Cousin Sophie?” Xander asked, craning his neck to see over the crowd. “Do you think—”

“Xander, we have to get moving,” Charlotte said, elbowing her husband in the ribs. “You can’t stop and make small talk.”

“Ha… sorry, love.”

The three of them continued on their way. Outside, Siegbert could see most of the campus, including the residence hall where his dorm would be. He’d be sharing it with three other boys, including his cousin Shigure, which relieved him, as he was a bit nervous about being somewhere without his whole family. It would be nice to have another relative right there with him.

“Third floor, did you say?” Xander asked as he held open the door for his wife and child.

“Yes, Father,” Siegbert answered as he pulled his luggage along. “Oh… it looks like there are only stairs.”

“That’s alright, Sieg; you can leave everything here with me,” his mother offered. “You boys can go check out the dorms without me; I’ll catch up.”

“Oh, alright. Thanks, Mother!”

“Ha, look at him, Charlotte; he can hardly contain his excitement!”

It was true, Siegbert realized with a laugh. As nervous as he’d been, he was so close to a new chapter of his life.

“C’mon, then, Father!” He shouted, turning and running up the stairs.

“Whoa, Sieggy- slow down!”

Siegbert chuckled as he rounded the stairs to the second floor— the girls’ dorms were in this hall. He’d have a lot of cousins there.

“I caught up!” His father cackled, tousling his son’s hair. “You’re too slow, Sieg!”

“Hey,” he laughed as they made their way to the third floor. He glanced at Hall A, where he would be staying.

Siegbert looked back at his father, whose lips were pursed.

“It’s okay, Father,” Siegbert assured Xander, patting him on the arm. Xander gave him a sad smiled.

“I know,” he said once more, possibly to reassure himself more than his son, “But it’s just… going to be so hard without you.”

“Oh… don’t get emotional,” Siegbert warned with a small chuckle. “You might cry in front of everyone here.”

“Yes, and that would be embarrassing,” Xander said, nodding.

“Well…” Siegbert led his father down the hall, stopping in front of Room 212A and B. “Here we are.”

“Yep.”

The two stood in silence for a bit.

“Dad, we have to go in.”

“Right, right,” Xander chortled, putting his hand on the doorknob. He pause. “Well, Sieg, this is it.”

“It would seem so.”

“Straighten your tie a bit; first impressions are everything, you know.”

Siegbert laughed. “If I straighten it anymore, it will choke me to death!”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic.” With that, Xander winked. “Ready to meet your roommates?”

Siegbert smiled. “Yes, sir!”

“Alright.” Xander took a deep breath. “In three… two… _one_.”

As his father opened the door, Siegbert heard a loud, “Hey, be cool, it’s him!” Followed by a loud “YOOOOOOOO—” shortly succeeded by a quieter “—ooooo…?” Upon seeing Xander.

Siegbert grimaced at the boys standing in the entryway to the rooms. One of them was Asugi, a boy he’d never really talked to much but knew from trips to visit his uncles in Hoshido, who was sitting on his bed putting up posters. The other, the one who had embarrassingly shouted, was his roommate.

“Oh… hey, Siegbert’s dad!” Shiro said, laughing nervously. “We, uh… thought you’d be with the others.”

Xander stared at the Hoshidan boy, who was still standing in front of him. He frowned, raised an eyebrow, and said, “I’m sorry… where are your _fathers_?”

“They went to get drinks,” Asugi explained. “So I was left here to tend to _this_ idiot.”

“Right.” Xander frowned at Shiro. “Would you like to make introductions, then?”

“Oh, well, right!” Shiro laughed. “That’s my dad’s friend Saizo’s son. You know Saizo? The Fifth? Well, this is Saizo the Sixth.”

“Do NOT call me ‘Saizo’, my name is Asugi.”

“Yep. And you know Shigure but he’s not here yet— he got held up when his dad started crying again in the commons room or something. And of course you know me, right? Shiro! Nice to meet ya again, Xander,” Shiro finished, holding out a hand, with a large, goofy grin on his face.

Xander regarded the boy’s outstretched hand. “Just ‘sir’ will do fine.”

“Oh…” Shiro lowered his hand. “Er, right, Xander. Sir!” He corrected himself. He then glanced over Xander’s shoulders to see Siegbert standing flabbergasted. “Hey, are you going to say something or what?”

“Uh…” Siegbert frown and cleared his throat. “It’s, uh… it’s nice to meet you again, Shiro.”

Shiro smiled, but Xander interrupted with, “Well, Charlotte should be up with Siegbert’s bags soon. I’m think I’m going to go find Leo and his family.” He turned. “Siegbert, let’s—”

“Uh…” Siegbert dropped his voice to a whisper. “Um, actually, Dad, I think I’ll just stay here.”

Xander’s brow raised.

“I’ll be fine! Don’t worry.”

Xander glanced back at Asugi and Shiro, who were now arguing about whether or not Shigure would notice if Asugi hid sweet in his desk so that Saizo wouldn’t find them.

“If you think that’s best,” Xander sighed. His face softened into a smile. “But it’s good for you to start taking some initiative. Show that backbone!”

Siegbert puffed out his chest. “Yes, sir!”

The two laughed before Xander turned to leave, wishing his son good luck.

Siegbert turned back to his room. There was an entry way with chairs, but you could see into the two adjoined rooms that were separated by a thick wall. To the right was Shigure and Asugi’s, the door wide open. The left door to Siegbert and Shiro’s room was closed.

“Well, are you gonna gawk, or are you gonna go in?”

Siegbert returned to reality with a jolt, facing his roommate. Shiro was still standing in front of the doorway. He gave Siegbert a soft smile.

Shiro looked a bit different from when they’d last seen each other. For one, he was taller— _much_ taller, taller than Siegbert, almost Xander’s height. He was incredibly tall, in fact, especially for a Hoshidan, whereas Siegbert was unfortunately a bit short.

Secondly, he’d grown out of his awkward preteen limbs… quite well. Shiro was incredibly well-built, sinews of muscle showing prominently under dark skin.

Besides that, his voice was a lot deeper, and his face seemed more defined and well-chiseled. Siegbert wondered how someone could change so much in only a few years when he was still the same-old awkward Siegbert, with a babyish face and hair that curled in all the worst places.

But then Shiro smiled again, and Siegbert was reminded of things that had stayed the same about his old friend: a warm smile, intensely dark eyes, pale hair, even the same headband he’d worn for years. Siegbert gave a shy smile back.

“See? There’s that nice smile!” Shiro laughed. “You look different.”

“Not as different as you,” Siegbert managed.

“Ha! Maybe. I’m taller than you now, for one.” Shiro motioned to the door. “Come on in. Trust me, it’s pretty nice. They put a lot of work into these dorms.” He beckoned for Siegbert to follow as he opened the door to their room. Siegbert complied, watching his old friend before turning his attention to his new living space.

Their room was more spacious than he’d thought it would be, housing two beds, two desks, two dressers, and two small closets. Another door led to what Siegbert believed was the bathroom. A few bags and suitcases laid haphazardly in the center of the room. The walls were white, the carpets were beige, and Siegbert felt a twinge of homesickness as he realized how sparsely decorated this new room was in comparison to his room at home.

“I haven’t started unpacking yet,” Shiro supplied, “since I figured I’d let you have first pick on which side of the room is yours.”

Siegbert blinked. “O-oh.” He frowned, looking at his feet. “I don’t know. I suppose the left side is fine.”

“Great! I’ll take the right, then,” Shiro said, taking his duffel bag from the floor and tossing it onto his bed.

Siegbert glanced around. Well… this was where he’d be spending the next ten or so months. This cold, desolate, empty room.

Would he be able to? Would he survive here without his parents? How would he manage to live a country away from them? Would they be okay without him? Would _he_ be okay without _them_?

“Hey, buddy.”

Siegbert looked up as he felt Shiro’s hand on his shoulder. His old friend gave him a warm smile.

“I know you’re probably really nervous,” Shiro began. “Honestly, so are the rest of us. But, just think; this is a great opportunity! And you get to take advantage of it with someone as awesome as _me_ by your side.”

Siegbert chuckled. “Well… that’s a thought, I suppose.”

Shiro beamed down at Siegbert one last time before saying, “Well, we’d best find our parents and say goodbye. We’ve got a long year ahead of us, bro!”

“Ha… yeah…”

Siegbert watched as Shiro left the dorm, then turned to their room. It was practically bare, but… he figured he’d learn to call it home.

He wondered what it would be like to live with Shiro.

He wouldn’t have that much time left to wonder, he figured.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro and Siegbert, a few months into school together, make some interesting revelations about their feelings towards each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time skip~

“Hey, guys.”

“Dwyer!” Shiro shouted as he and Siegbert walked into the nearby café, Joker’s Coffee. “It’s nice to see you, buddy.”

“Hello, Dwyer.”

“Hey, Shiro. Hey, Siegbert.” Their lazy friend sighed. “Can I get you anything?”

The boys placed their orders. It had been a few weeks into the school year, and Shiro and Siegbert had officially chosen this particular coffee shop as their favorite place to study.

Well… _Siegbert_ had. Shiro had decided he’d rather spend his time goofing off or playing sports. That is, until his midterm grades had rolled around and Ryoma had sent a very _angry_ letter about his son’s performance until Siegbert offered to tutor him.

“Alright. I’ll get that coffee for you.” Dwyer yawned. “Dad’s somewhere around her. Mom went off to buy more stuff for the shop. There’s no one else around, so I guess you guys can get comfortable.

“There,” Siegbert said, pointing to their booth. It was a secluded booth, wedged between the corner of two walls, positioned so that no one else could see them—  and they couldn’t see much else, the perfect place to study with few distractions.

Siegbert began to lay out all their books on the table as Shiro sat down.

“Man,” Shiro began, “do you really put milk in your coffee?”

“Yes,” Siegbert said, a bit impatiently. “I take it you don’t?”

“Nope. Lactose intolerant. Nearly everyone in my family is.”

“Ah, right. I forgot. Forrest and Kiragi are too.” Siegbert took his place in his side of the booth, clearing his throat. “So.” He glanced at the books. “Where would you like to begin?”

Shiro shrugged. “I dunno. Wherever’s fine.”

Siegbert sighed. “I guess we’ll start with history, since you’re _failing_ that.”

“Oh, yeah. Uncle Takumi was livid when he heard. He loves history. He’s such a nerd,” Shiro chuckled.

“Right… well, what chapter are you on?”

“Oh. Uh… chapter five, I think? No, wait— chapter four. There’s something about a holy war?”

“Yes. In Jugdral.”

“Yoog-drawl. That’s such a weird-sounding name.”

The corner of Siegbert’s mouth twitched. “Er, yes. I suppose it is.”

“Yeah. Well,” Shiro began, “I know there was something about this guy named Sigurd.”

“Yes, that’s true. And?”

“Uh… and he had a cool lance?”

 “Yes, I… suppose he did.”

“Coffee,” Dwyer said, plopping two cups of scalding hot bean juice in front of them, thankfully breaking most of the tension. “Remember to leave a tip.”

“Thank you,” the two called as their friend walked away.

Shiro sighed. “Sieg…”  he muttered as he picked up his coffee.

“Yeah?” Siegbert asked as he took a sip of his. It was creamy and sweet— he hated bitter coffee. He smiled; once more, Dwyer had shown his skills at coffee-making. It was as though he made each cup with love. Unlike his father, whose brews were still good, though his spice of life seemed to be more in the way of spite, salt and sarcasm.

“I…” Shiro rubbed the back of his neck. “I know I’m not the best student.”

Siegbert chuckled. “Oh, really? What gave it away?”

“Hey, now.” Shiro cracked a smile. “But, really. I’m trying to be serious.”

Siegbert pursed his lips. Right. He had to take Shiro seriously. It wasn’t as though he were a child.

“Alright,” Siegbert said. “Continue.”

“Mm…” Shiro took another drink of his coffee, closing his eyes. “I know we’re really different. I like sports and hanging out and partying. You like studying and being on your own and doing things at your own pace.” He opened his eyes just enough to look at Siegbert. “But just know… I’m not _trying_ to make things harder for you. I know you take time out of your every-day just to help me. You shouldn’t have to do that.”

Frowning, Siegbert looked down at his beverage. He knew he came off as a bit cold sometimes, but he didn’t want Shiro to think that he didn’t care.

“I- I don’t mind it much…”

“Yeah, but… you could be doing anything else with your time,” Shiro persisted. “You could make new friends, or hang out with your old ones…”

“I’m no good at making friends,” Siegbert chuckled. “Besides… _you’re_ one of my old friends, and here I am, hanging out with you.”

Shiro’s eyes widened. He grinned and laughed aloud, scratching his head. “Well— yeah, I guess you’ve got me there!”

Shiro’s smile and laughter were infectious, beginning to spread to Siegbert. “Haha… Besides, even if you weren’t here, I’d most likely just be studying by myself.” He glanced at his friend earnestly. “You make it more fun.”

The Hoshidan boy put a hand over his heart dramatically. “Oh, Siegbert— do you really mean that?”

“Of course I do,” Siegbert admitted. “Plus, it’s not as if these study sessions are all for nothing. I get some elective hours for school, _and_ I get to see my friend succeed.”

“Oh! About that,” Shiro shouted, reaching into his duffel bag, “I have good news!”

He plopped a set of papers down onto the table. “On of the teachers printed off my grades. Take a look!”

Siegbert picked up the report carefully, glancing it over. “Oh— you raised your history grades!” he remarked, beaming. “Shiro, I’m so proud of you!”

“Yep! _And_ now that I don’t have any failing grades… Coach is going to let me play again!” Shiro looked up at Siegbert. “Hey— you should come to our next game!”

“I… I should?”

“Yeah! Come out! Watch us play.”

Siegbert looked down. “I… I don’t know. I’ve got to study. And—”

“Oh, psht, you’re _always_ studying,” Shiro scoffed, rolling his eyes. “You should take a day off! Have some fun!” He winked. “I’ll see you there, right?”

Siegbert laughed nervously, blushing a bit. “I- I suppose it couldn’t _hurt_ to go out for a bit…”

“Great! I can’t wait to see you there!” Shiro took a long swig of his coffee before turning back to Siegbert with a ring of brown liquid clinging to the top of his lip like some sort of liquid mustache.

This time, Siegbert couldn’t help but laughing. “Oh, stop being so ridiculous,” he said as his friend wiped at his mouth. “Now, come on; chapter four is split into two parts, and we haven’t even gotten to Seliph yet.”

 

***

 

“You invited him to our game?”

“ _Sh_!” Shigure scolded, putting a finger to his lips and frowning at Shiro and Asugi before returning to the paper they were supposed to be working on.

“…Yeah,” Shiro whispered, lowering his voice so as not to disturb their class— or tip off their teacher to the fact that they were talking. “I don’t know if he’ll actually come, though.”

“Nice,” Asugi said, a lollypop clenched firmly in his teeth. “He’d better come. You’re coming, right, Shigure?”

“I am,” Shigure answered, not looking up. “My sister is on the team, remember?”

“Oh, right. Sometimes I forget that you and Rainbows are siblings.” Asugi rubbed his hands together. “Well, can’t wait to see Sieg there. He needs to get out more. Stick in the mud,” he muttered as the bell rang.

The three boys rose from their seats and gathered their things together. Shiro continued the conversation with, “I’m surprised that he’s actually willing to go. He’s usually pretty content just staying in our room and reading.”

“Well, maybe he likes you,” Asugi joked.

Shiro paused as Shigure and Asugi began to walk away. He frowned, pondering that. Could that be true?

“Um, Shiro? You coming?”

“Uh, yeah,” Shiro answered, running after them.

Still, he couldn’t shake what Asugi had said from his mind. He knew Asugi was joking, but what would happen if, theoretically, Siegbert _did_ like him? How would that play out? And more importantly, how would Shiro feel about that?

The strangest thing was, Shiro didn’t think he’d mind it.

 

***

 

“Oh my _gods_ , Siegbert, I can’t believe you’re actually coming!”

Siegbert laughed nervously as his cousins practically squealed with delight.

Soleil clapped her hands together. “Wow, Sieg, I never thought I’d see your nerdy self on the soccer field.”

“I’m not going to be _on_ the football field, Soleil, I’m going to be in the stands watching you guys,” Siegbert reminded her.

“Whatever. Still surprising,” she held. “Welp, I’m gonna head down to the locker rooms. Keep him in line, girls,” she said, winking at Nina and Ophelia before running away.

The other two girls turned to him and squealed.

“Oh my _gods_ , Sieg!” Nina yelped, “You get to hang out with the cool kids!”

“It’s so fun to watch the soccer games,” Ophelia mused. “I’m glad you’re coming out to watch with us!”

Siegbert walked with them outside of the school building, where classes had just finished. “Well, my father really loves the game, so it’s not like I hate it. Besides, Shiro asked me to come.”

“Ooh, _Shiro_?” Nina echoed, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Nina, don’t even start,” Siegbert warned as they made their way to the soccer fields.

“But _Siegbert_! This isn’t just some yaoi fangirl hullabaloo! You and Shiro have a special bond! A bond that can’t be put to words! Because I haven’t thought of them yet,” she added.

Siegbert snorted. “You really are too much.”

“Oh, but she’s right, you know,” Ophelia sighed dreamily. “You two seem awfully close. We can all tell. And you’re a Gemini and he’s a Leo! Those are two very compatible signs, you know.”

“No offense, Ophelia, but I’m not sure I trust a cluster of stars to dictate who is a good match for me.”

Ophelia shrugged. “Astrology is not for everyone. But, really; he’s a good boy. You should consider it.”

“Yeah!” Nina chimed, “He didn’t even get scared away when we went to a play together and I told him I shipped the two leads. He said he could 'see it'. That has to count for something!”

“For you, maybe, but not for me,” Siegbert chuckled. “Besides, when was the last time you heard of a gay jock?”

“Soleil,” the two girls said instantly in unison.

“Ah… fair point, but I’m not sure that counts.”

“Whatever,” Nina sighed, crossing her arms. “Maybe watching him run around in tight clothes, glistening with sweat will change your mind.”

“Nina, no…”

She cackled. “Just a thought.”

Siegbert sighed. She’d never let him live this down. That is, until she moved on to someone else. He knew she didn’t actually mean anything by it, but sometimes her jokes were a bit unnerving.

Especially because he couldn’t stop thinking about Shiro after she said them.

 

***

 

“Alright, team! We’ve got a good game ahead of us. I can smell it!”

The Dusk and Dawn Dragons co-ed soccer team stood in a single file line as their coach, Gunter, walked up and down, examining them while he gave his pep talk.

Shiro stood between Asugi and his cousin Sophie, pulling on the edge of his shorts, not really paying attention. Gunter was obscenely old, and a huge hard-ass. So, even though Shiro didn’t want to make him angry, he also didn’t feel like listening to a dinosaur lecture him.

“Now, I know you’ve all been training hard for your first game. I’ve made absolute sure of it, after all.”

Nervous laughter ensued. It could’ve been a funny joke if Coach Gunter weren’t so terrifying.

“We can’t win every game, but we’ve still got to give it our all. Who’s with me?!”

The team gave a hardy shout, Shiro included.

“Now… let’s go play some _soccer_!”

Another shout resounded as the team ran onto the field.

Spirits were high as the crowd cheered for their home team. Sophie, the team captain, waved to her adoring fans as she ran alongside their coach.

Shiro, despite loving the energy that was on the field right now, was a bit distracted. His eyes scanned the crowd. He saw a few family members, like Kiragi, who was waving excitedly next to his brother, who was slightly disinterested, and Percy, one of his Nohrian friends, who was beyond ecstatic.

Shiro frowned. He should’ve figured it was too much trouble to get his hopes up. After all, Siegbert was a much more studious person who liked having time to himself.

But then Soleil shouted, “ _YO_ , Sieggy and the gang! Wish us luck!”

Shiro’s eyes flew to Nina and Ophelia, who were standing waving pennants with none other than Siegbert between them. Shiro locked eyes with his roommate, who smiled and flashed him a thumbs-up.

Feeling a sudden surge of energy flowing through him, Shiro turned to the rest of his team. “Alright, my dudes, let’s _do this_!”

 

***

 

“ _Yeah_!” Nina shouted as Ignatius blocked another shot from entering the goal. “For such a sweetheart, he is _fierce_ on the playing field.”

Siegbert chuckled and didn’t say anything. He was busy watching somebody else.

Shiro might have been a bit lazy when it came to other things, but he was no slugabed when it came to athletics. He was a monster on the soccer field, playing his position as though he were born to fill it.

After Ignatius blocked the other team’s shot, Shiro ran up to Sophie and gave her a high five as she switched with a red-haired Hoshidan girl (Siegbert was pretty sure her name was something like Cordelia or Caeldori or Riceload. Something with those letters) who was to take her place. Sophie had hurt herself and was now limping to the benches.

“Good job, Soph!” He heard Shiro shout. “Just rest, okay?”

Sophie smiled and gave him a thumbs-up through tears. Despite his cousin’s clumsiness, Sophie was always looking on the bright side. It was quite a commendable attitude, shared with her optimistic little sister, Kanna. Somewhere in the crowd, Siegbert’s uncles and younger cousin were undoubtedly preparing to fuss over the team’s captain once the game was over.

Siegbert watched with wide eyes as Ignatius threw the ball back in. Before one of their adversaries could reach it, Shiro was there in a flash, kicking the ball to Caeldori, and the two worked together to get the ball across the field in an impressive maneuver before Shiro returned it to Caeldori, who with a shot that could only be described as perfect kicked it into the other team’s goal.

The crowd cheered, and Shiro and Caeldori bumped fists. Siegbert found himself a bit jealous of the girl, which he then reprimanded himself for. She was probably just Shiro’s friend from his old life in Hoshido. Even if she wasn’t, Siegbert had absolutely no reason to be jealous. Yes. Not jealous at all.

Even so, he couldn’t help passing glances at the two every time they were together on the field— which was often. They made a good team.

“Look at him _go_ ,” Nina sighed dreaming. “Isn’t he just so _smoking hot_?” She asked as she nudged Siegbert in the ribs.

“Please don’t,” Siegbert sighed.

“Look at those finely chiseled legs,” Nina joked. “C’mon. You know you wanna.”

Siegbert pushed her away as she cackled with glee.

“We’re winning!” Ophelia cheered, waving her pennant. “That Caeldori sure is a wonder. I hear that her father’s quite the perfectionist.”

“Hm.” Siegbert nodded along, but he wasn’t really listening. He was instead starting to learn what Nina meant by “finely chiseled legs”.

Realizing he was staring, Siegbert panicked. He tried his best to distract himself from Shiro and instead used his father’s old tactic of imagining that everyone around him was a rabbit. Sure, that was meant to help him get over his social anxiety, but it actually worked. Everyone on the field was now a rabbit.

“Uh, Sieg? Whatcha doing?”

“Rabbits,” he muttered.

“Oh, dear,” Ophelia pouted, “I’m afraid he’s getting nervous.”

“Maybe we should go get popcorn or something?” Nina suggested.

“I’m fine,” Siegbert assured them.

“Really?” Nina asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes. I was just… thinking about my speech class,” he lied.

“Oh, I see. Right. The rabbits thing that Uncle Xander taught you.” Nina shrugged. “Well, hey. Maybe focus on the game again? That might take your mind off of it.”

Siegbert grimaced as he returned his focus to the field. This was torture.

And then it slowly dawned upon him.

Nina was right.

He _did_ like Shiro.

 

***

 

“So who’s that blonde kid who kept staring at you?”

Shiro frowned at Caeldori. The two were the first out of the locker rooms after the game had ended, having gone to grab a soda before they had to go out and face the fans, having won the game. He and Caeldori, being close friends, were a good pair, having played soccer together since they were children.

“You mean Percy?” Shiro asked, putting the soda to his lips as they leaned against the vending machine. “He was staring at all of us. He’s really into this kind of stuff. Or Kiragi? He’s my cousin. Ooh, or Ignatius? Or ‘Phelia? There are a lot of blonde kids at our school.”

“No, not any of _them_. You know who I mean. He looks our age? Curly hair, kind of shy-looking?”

“Oh.” Shiro shrugged. “That’s Siegbert. He’s my roommate.”

“Roommates, huh?” Caeldori glanced up at the ceiling. “Hm. He seemed really… into you.”

“Oh, _pfft_ ,” Shiro laughed. “You’re ridiculous, Dori.”

“No, I’m _serious_!” She argued. “The way he stared at you, it was like he wanted to watch your every move. And he kept blushing whenever that girl with the braids kept talking to him.”

“Ooooooh, that’s Nina, his cousin. Yeah, she does stuff like that,” he informed his friend. “She was probably making some weird joke about shipping the boys on the field.”

“Hm… still,” she insisted. “I’ve had enough crushes to these kinds of things.”

“Haha, well, I guess.” Shiro glanced from side to side, then leaned over and whispered, “But, uh… do you really think he might like me?”

“Oh my _gods_ , Shiro! You _like_ him!”

“Not so loud,” Shiro said, shushing her. “Okay, yes, he’s been my tutor for a while now and I guess I just sorta… started to like him? I dunno. It's a weird feeling.”

“You should ask him out!” Caeldori suggested. “Ooh, I could give you dating tips! Do you want to borrow my copy of _Make Him Fall for You in a Fortnight_?”

“Uh… I’ll have to get back to you on that,” Shiro answered. “You know… maybe I _should_. But you can’t tell anyone, okay?”

“My lips are sealed,” she swore. She glanced over his shoulder and smiled. “Oh, Shiro, don’t look now…”

Shiro glanced behind him, and instantly freaked out internally. Down the hallway was Siegbert, being pushed along by Ophelia and Nina, chattering wildly at him.

“No— girls, don’t— _seriously, could you st_ —”

“Hey, Sieggy!”

Siegbert looked up, utter terror reflected in his eyes.

“Uh…” he chucked nervously, pulling on the collar of his shirt. “H-hey, Shiro…”

“Hey, _Ophelia_!” Nina said loudly, “I think I hear Forrest and Kiragi! Let’s skedaddle!”

The two girls ran down the hallway, giggling suspiciously.

Caeldori watched them go, then turned to Shiro. “Well, I’m going to go back to the locker room and check on Sophie. See ya, Shiro.” As she walked away, she winked at him.

Once the three girls were out of sight, Shiro turned to Siegbert, who looked… mortified. He wondered if he was upset about something. Or maybe embarrassed. Was he embarrassed? Maybe to  be seen with a dumb lug like Shiro?

“Well, uh…” Siegbert coughed. “I should, uh… probably catch up with my cousins…”

“No, wait!” Shiro shouted, grabbing his roommate’s shoulder before he could walk away. Siegbert turned, eyes wide.

“I mean, um…” Shiro sighed, releasing Siegbert and rubbing his neck. “Did you, uh… did you enjoy the game?”

Siegbert smiled timidly. “Yeah. You guys did well. I’m glad we won.”

“Yep. Leave it to the Dragons!”

The two stood in awkward silence. Was this how it worked? Did people just stand there looking awkwardly at people they liked?

“Um…”

“Hey, uh!” Shiro interrupted. “Would you, uh… would you like to go get coffee at Joker’s sometime this weekend?”

“Hm?” Siegbert frowned. “Do you want to have another study session? I mean, I was hoping to relax this weekend, but…”

“No, I…” Shiro sighed. “Like… _go_ to Joker’s, specifically to get coffee.”

“Oh. You mean— _oh_.” Siegbert rubbed his hair. “I mean, uh…”

“It’s okay if you don’t want to!” Shiro clarified.

“No, no,” Siegbert said, shaking his head. “I’d like that.” He smiled timidly. “I’d like that a lot.”

“Oh.” Shiro glanced away, turning red. “So, uh… I’ll see you there, then? Saturday? Around noon?”

“I’ll be there,” Siegbert promised.

“Great!”

The stood in silence once more, until Shiro broke it by asking, “Hey, I gotta go meet with the team again, but could I walk you back to our room when we’re done?”

“O-okay,” Siegbert agreed.

“Great! Er, I already said that, but…” Shiro waved his hand. “Ah, whatever. I’ll catch you on the flipside, Siegbert!”

He turned around, muttering “Stupid, stupid, _stupid_ ” under his breath until he heard,

“I’ll look forward to it, Shiro.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Siegbert and Shiro go out for coffee and evaluate their relationship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hrrrrgh I'm so sorry, I planned to have this out on Sunday or Monday but I guess Saturday will do :^/  
> Also I'm working on the next chapter real quick but I have Prom tonight and an AP study group tomorrow so don't expect another update in the next two days. Sorry!

In all honesty, Shiro didn’t know how to prepare for a date.

Truthfully, he’d never really been on one. The closest he’d ever gotten was hitting on a girl only for her to turn him down. Or slap him. Or splash her drink in his face, as Rhajat had done once. (He wasn’t even hitting on her. She just wanted to throw her drink in his face.)

Then again, he wasn’t even sure if this was really a _date_. Neither of them had ever specified. But it was still making him nervous.

Even more so due to the fact that the person he was going with shared a room with him and was there right now.

Siegbert was sitting at his desk, reading glasses on as he studied for a final in some fancy-numbers math class that Shiro never had any hope of entering or understanding. He claimed he wanted to make up for the study time he’d lose for this coffee break, so he was really buckling down.

Even though it was eight in the morning.

Just the _thought_ of studying that early made Shiro sick to his stomach.

Shiro himself was in the bathroom, fussing with his hair. It was sticking up in every direction like usual. Even his headband didn’t help completely. Why did he inherit his mom’s hair color but his dad’s terrible hair? He had to power through with what he had. The day he reduced himself to growing his dad’s mullet was the day he died.

Plus, he didn’t know what to wear. He wasn’t exactly the most fashion-savvy guy.

Although… he did know one particularly fashion-savvy guy.

“I’m going out!” Shiro suddenly announced, running towards the door. “I’ll be back in a bit!”

“Whatever,” Siegbert replied passively, waving a hand.

Shiro exited their dorm and ran down the hallway. He tried to remember which dorm his younger cousins shared. Freshmen and sophomores had a co-ed floor somewhere around the building. Maybe it was the fourth floor?

He climbed the stairs, trying to remember the number. He wasn’t good with numbers. It was fourth floor, room… 420A? No, that was Asugi’s cousin Midori’s room…

“501B!” Shiro shouted as he remembered, right as he passed the room. His cousins lived in one of the three-person dorms where three kids were lumped together in a small room, not one of the nice suites that he and Siegbert got to live in. The names _Forrest, Kiragi,_ and _Percy_ were written on colorful name cards.

Shiro reached up and knocked on the door; several voices were heard from inside.

“ _More_ people? We can barely fit the ones we have _in_ here!”

“Oh, hush, Kiragi. It’s probably just the RA coming to check on us. Go answer the door.”

Shiro heard some more idle chatter from inside, until the door was opened by none other than his cousin Kiragi, whose eyes widened when they fell on him. “Oh, guys! It’s Shiro!”

“Hey, Shiro!”

Inside were the other two denizens of the dorm, Percy, who was sitting on his bed reading comics, and Forrest, who was with Ophelia and Nina, his cousins and two best friends, doing Nina’s hair while sitting on the bottom bunk of his bed while Ophelia when through the dresses in his bureau.

“Hey, guys! Hey, Nina. Hey, ‘Phelia.”

“I thought I asked you to stop calling me that!”

Forrest tossed his hair over his shoulder as he finished Nina’s second pigtail braid, which had flowers weaved through it. “Can you hold on a second, Shiro? Ophelia and I are trying to help Nina with some fashion.”

“Okay, the camellias in your hair are for good luck, the gemstones in your necklace are for intuition, and… Forrest, do you have any dresses in silver or gold?”

“I have a grey one in the bottom drawer and a few white ones.”

“Hm, no… ooh, here’s an indigo one! It will go amazingly with your eyes, too!”

“Um…” Shiro frowned, unsure of what he’d just walked into. “What’s going on?”

“I have a, um, parent-teacher conference in regard to all the class I’ve missed. I could use all the luck I can get. Even contrived and silly methods like whatever it is Ophelia does.”

“It’s not contrived and silly!” Ophelia argued. “It’s magic!”

“Don’t make fun of ‘Phelia,” Shiro agreed. “Besides, she’s helping you, isn’t she?”

Nina sighed. “I suppose. But I’m probably going to _die_ in this outfit. My mom is terrifying when she gets mad.”

“You’ve got that right,” Forrest said, and his brother and Ophelia nodded solemnly. Their Aunt Camilla was a scary lady.

“Alright, Nina, go change,” he continued after pausing for dramatic effect. Nina and Ophelia walked out with the dress, chattering about how Nina just _had_ to ace her test.

Forrest turned to Shiro, smoothing down his grey hair. “Do you need something, then?” he asked as Kiragi raced back into their room and sat next to him.

“Um…” Shiro fidgeted nervously. “I know you mostly specialize in women’s fashion, but could you, uh…”

An audible gasp resounded within the boys’ room.

“Shiro, are you...” Forrest narrowed his grey eyes and smiled. “Are you _asking_ me for _fashion_ _advice_?”

“Uh… I think so?”

Forrest leaned over to his brother. “Kiragi, pinch me, I think I’m dreaming.”

“I don’t think you are!” Kiragi replied, trying to suppress laughter. Percy, on his own bed, was doing nothing to suppress his laughter, and was instead guffawing merrily.

“Yeah, haha, very funny,” Shiro sighed, rolling his eyes. “Maybe I should just go ask on of the girls.”

“Oh, no,” Forrest said, waving his hands, “don’t get me wrong— I _want_ to help you! After all, I don’t think anyone in our family is more fashionably challenged than you.”

“Hey…”

“Well, except maybe my brother.”

“Hey!”

“But,” he continued, “I have to ask— what’s prompted this? You aren’t usually the type to care about how you look.”

Shiro chuckled. “Let’s just say I’ve got something important later.”

Silence.

Then,

“Oh my god, Kiragi, he got a date.”

Shiro turned red. “Oh, what? _Nooooooo_ , I could never get a date!”

Kiragi turned to his brother. “Well, he’s not wrong, so that can’t be it.”

“Oh, you’re right. He couldn’t have possibly gotten a date; that was ridiculous of me to say.”

That both relieved and hurt Shiro.

Forrest turned back to his cousin, eyes wide with a mixture of mischief and interest—  a dangerous combination if Shiro had ever seen one. “Well… I suppose I could help you. For starters— are you against having your hair brushed?”

 

***

 

Siegbert checked his watch again, wondering why Shiro was so late.

He’d gotten a text not that long ago asking him to meet his friend at the coffee shop instead of walking there together. He wondered what Shiro could possibly be doing that would take this long. Maybe he was training? He knew that their coach could be merciless…

At that moment, he was standing outside of the coffee shop, waiting. Dwyer’s father had sent him out multiple times to check on him, but Siegbert had send him back inside each time with assurance that he was perfectly fine, just waiting on someone who was being _extremely slow today._

Siegbert sighed, leaning against the walls of the café. Perhaps this was just some cruel joke. Maybe Shiro asked him here to play a trick on him. He didn’t think Shiro would do that, but honestly, he’d believe anything at this point.

Soon, however, his worries proved unnecessary.

“Hey, Sieg! Yoohoo! I made it!”

Siegbert looked up hopefully. Surely enough, Shiro was running down the street towards him, waving. Siegbert’s eyes widened in surprise when he got closer.

“Did you… _brush_ your _hair_?”

Surely enough, as Shiro stopped in front of him, Siegbert could see that his friend’s unruly locks that would under normal circumstances stick out in every which direction were brushed and tidied to an almost passable standard. He was also wearing clothes that weren’t a rumpled school uniform or gym shorts, which was a plus, and an improvement that Siegbert liked.

Shiro laughed heartily, running a hand through his (freshly brushed!) hair. “Yeah… Forrest insisted. You know how he can be.”

Siegbert chuckled. “I suppose he picked out your clothes, too.”

“Yup.” Shiro posed dramatically. “Do you like it?”

“Yes,” Siegbert answered, maybe a _bit_ too quickly. He quickly turned red. “H-hey, you know what sounds good? Going _inside_.”

“Oh… uh, sure.” Shiro walked around Siegbert and opened the door for him, letting him walk inside first.

Dwyer greeted the two of them upon entrance. “So, you finally decided to stop loitering.”

“Your very _existence_ is loitering,” Dwyer’s father spat from behind the counter where he was restocking the displays. Jakob wasted no words. Not even the mean ones.

“Be nice, dear!” Dwyer’s mother called from somewhere in the back.

“Yeah, old man,” Dwyer said smugly, “you don’t want to sleep on the couch again, do you?”

Jakob grumbled something under his breath as Dwyer turned around. “Well, what should I get you? The usual?”

“Um…” Siegbert glanced down.

“Yes,” Shiro answered instead. “Sieg, you can go sit down; I’ll pay this time.”

“N-no, it’s fine, I’ll just…”

“I’m tellin’ ya, let me pay.”

“No, but I—”

“Oh my _gods_ , stop being such a _couple_ ,” Dwyer moaned. “It’s _gross_.”

Siegbert turned red at the word “couple”, but Dwyer didn’t seem to notice.

“Oh, stop bellyaching,” Shiro retorted. He turned to Siegbert and winked. “Don’t worry. It’s my fault you’re here, anyways, so I’ll pay.”

Rather than argue further, Siegbert nodded and walked over to their usual booth, which was, thankfully, free. He sat down while Shiro gave their order.

Pondering, Siegbert put his chin in his hands, elbows propped up by the table. He was exceeding nervous and epically failing at not showing it. But in his defense, he had no idea how dates worked.

Oh gods… was _that_ what this was? A date?

Siegbert hadn’t thought much about it before.

…He _hoped_ it was. Otherwise all of these needless worrying and nervousness was for nothing. Or, worse that that; a frivolous outing with someone who would never be more than a friend.

His thoughts were quickly interrupted as Shiro arrived, plopping himself violently into his seat.

“Well, the coffee is on the way!” he announced with a smile. “So, how’ve you been, Sieg? Good? Great?”

“Tired,” Siegbert answered. “It’s almost the end of the first quarter, so I’ve got to study for all of my final exams.”

“Oh. Uh…”

“You haven’t started, have you?”

Shiro laughed. “Uh, no. But I’ll be good. I’m not failing any classes. As long as my dad doesn’t come up to campus and start harping about how much of a disappointment I am, I’ll be fine.”

“Oh, I’m sure he really doesn’t think that,” Siegbert assured his friend.

“The way he talks, I have a hard time believing that,” Shiro scoffed, looking at his hands. “I mean… he’s this great, successful person that everyone respects. Everyone expects me to be like that ’cause I’m his son, but…” he sighed. “They’re always disappointed. ‘Oh, why is _Ryoma’s_ son such a slugabed?’ ‘Oh, why is _Ryoma’s_ son such an idiot?’ ‘Oh, why is _Ryoma’s_ son such a mindless jock?’” He trailed off for a bit, glancing away. “I mean… it gets tiring, being compared to him all the time.”

“I know.” Siegbert nodded understandingly. “The people in Nohr look up to my family and my father. I hear a lot of people ask how ‘the great and amazing Xander’ could have such a weak, nerdy son. Or that it’s unfortunate that I didn’t inherit his strength… his bravery… his looks… among other things.”

 “Yeah. Those are some big shadows we’re standing in, huh?”

“Indeed,” Siegbert concurred.

They were silent for a moment.

“You know, I don’t think you’re an idiot _or_ a slugabed,” Siegbert stated.

Shiro smiled. “Thanks. And, you know, the people who say that you’re nothing like your dad… you shouldn’t listen to them. Bravery? You’ve got it. Strength? Well, maybe you’re not the strongest physically, but I’m sure you could pull your own if you _needed_ to.”

“Wow-gee, thanks, Shiro.”

“Ha! Sorry. And looks?” He chuckled, winking. “Well, I guess they don’t see you the same way I do.”

Siegbert turned red. “Um— I—”

“Coffee.”

Siegbert jumped, nearly falling out of his seat, as Dwyer approached with their drinks. They friend raised an eyebrow.

“Terrifying, aren’t I?” He yawned as he set the cups he was carrying on the table. “Whatever. I wasn’t even listening to whatever you weirdos were talking about.”

“Finals,” Shiro lied. “Sieg’s going to help me cheat.”

“I am _not_!” Siegbert turned to Dwyer. “I don’t cheat!”

Dwyer shrugged. “Not like I care. Cheating’s not _that_ bad.”

“What was that, young man?”

“Nothing, Mom,” Dwyer replied to his mother.

“Hmph. That’s what I thought. Get back to work; you don’t have time to have idle chatter with your friends.”

“Whatever.” Dwyer waved to Shiro and Siegbert as he walked away. “Later, guys.”

The two friends turned to each other as Dwyer walked away.

“So, where were we?” Shiro asked as he took a sip from his cup.

Siegbert traced his name as it was written on his cup in Jakob’s elegant script. “You were, uh, flirting with me. I think.”

“Oh.” He paused. “Uh, yeah. I was.”

Siegbert’s blush deepened. “O-oh.”

“Why? Do you want me to stop.”

“N-no! I mean, I…” Siegbert sighed and put his head in his hands. “I- I don’t know.”

Shiro chuckled. “You’re kind of adorable when you’re flustered, you know.”

“Thanks…”

“Um… I’m not sure you know how to respond when someone’s flirting with you.”

“I don’t. Not really. I- I’m not used to people showing… _interest_ in me.”

“Well, neither am I,” Shiro admitted.

Siegbert peeked through his hands. Shiro _looked_ calmer, but he was blushing just as much as Siegbert was, rubbing his neck nervously and avoiding eye contact. Siegbert hadn’t thought that Shiro could be fazed by something as simple as talking to someone.

Fully removing his head from his hands, Siegbert admitted, “I… I really like you, Shiro.”

Shiro stopped, and turned, looking Siegbert in the eyes.

“I- I like you, too.”

“Well…” Siegbert chuckled nervously and put his coffee to his lips. “Glad we got that out of the way.”

“Sieg. I’m serious, for once,” Shiro affirmed.

Siegbert paused. “I am too.”

Shiro frowned and, looking down, pursed his lips. “So… what do we do?”

“I don’t really know. But… I like this,” Shiro admitted, smiling a bit.

“Should we do it more often?”

“Yeah.”

“But if we go on more dates, that would mean we’re dating.”

“Yeah. I’m not against that.” Shiro made eye contact again. “Are you?”

Siegbert blushed once more. “Oh… well… no. I think I’d like that, actually.”

Shiro smile. “So, we’re boyfriends now?”

“I suppose.”

“What kind of answer is that?!”

Siegbert laughed. “You know, you’re kind of adorable when you’re flustered.”

“I—” Shiro covered his mouth with his hand, hiding his smile as he reddened in the face.

“See? Two can play at this flirting game,” Siegbert laughed before sipping from his coffee. “Now, if you’re done being embarrassing, maybe we can talk about your school work.”

“ _Ugh_. I wanted a boyfriend, not another dad.”

“No dates until you raise your math grade from a D.”

Shiro chuckled. “You nerd. Fine, I’ll do it. I guess you’ll make a decent man of me yet, huh?”

“I’ll certainly try to. But for now, let’s just drink coffee.”

“Ha! I can drink to that. Cheers… boyfriend.”

 

***

 

“And then, Asugi shoved the _entire_ pastry into his mouth just so his dad couldn’t find it!”

“Ew,” Siegbert said, making a face. “I’ll have to tell him to _never_ do that in front of me.”

Shiro laughed as he and Siegbert climbed the stairs to their room. “Well, his dad’s a bit of a stickler. And he _hates_ sweets. Honestly, sometimes I don’t know how the two of them are related. Though I feel like that with my dad a lot.”

“Hm.”

The two stopped as they reached their room.

“Well,” Shiro said, “We’re here.”

“Yeah,” Siegbert sighed.

“Do you think Shigure and Asugi are here?”

“Probably.”

“Should we… y’know… tell them?”

Siegbert frowned. “No… I don’t think we should. I don’t know how our friends might react.”

Shiro looked away. “Er… right. Okay.”

He heard Siegbert take a deep breath. “I’m sorry…”

“No, I understand completely,” Shiro assured him. “You don’t have to apologize.”

Siegbert pursed his lips in a smile, then looked down. “Well, this was fun, Shiro. I’m really glad we got to do this.”

Shiro thought for a moment. “You know, I think we can end this night pretty well.”

“What do you mean? Is it no ove—” Siegbert was interrupted as Shiro leaned down and pressed his lips against his own.

Although Shiro’s mind was racing, and he was afraid he might have made a dumb move— after all, they’d just started dating _that day_ — he felt Siegbert turn his head slightly to the right, lacing his fingers in Shiro’s hair.

They leaned back and looked into each other’s eyes.

“Well,” Siegbert giggled, “That was a surprise.”

“A good one?” Shiro asked with a grin.

Siegbert laughed— a real wholesome laugh that made Shiro want to laugh right with him.

“Well, we’re going to have to go in at some point,” Siegbert reminded him. “And _you_ have a test tomorrow. You need to go to sleep.”

“Right, right. _Dad_ ,” Shiro scoffed playfully.

His boyfriend rolled his eyes, reaching for the doorknob before pausing. “I’m happy to be yours.”

“Heh. I’m happy to be _yours_ , too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One day I'll make a definitive list of who is who's sibling in my games' files...  
> But for now I'll just list the royal cousins off to avoid confusion: Shiro, Siegbert, Forrest, Kiragi, Nina, Ophelia, Soleil, Shigure, Hisame, Sophie, and the Kanas.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro and Siegbert try their best to keep their relationship under wraps. Their friends and relatives suspect that something is going on that they don't know about and get it horribly wrong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck it I didn't wanna post this chapter yet bc I wanted to post it alongside Ch.5 but it looks like _THAT'S_ not how it's gonna go down so guess I'm posting it w/o the next  
>  By the way not a single bit of this is from Shiro OR Sieg's point of view

“Siegbert… Siegbert?”

“Hm?”

Shigure frowned as he cousin snapped back to reality. He’d been staring off into space, and their art teacher was glaring at them.

“Are you okay?” Shigure whispered, returning to his painting. “You’ve been lacking in attention all day. You’re not sick, are you?”

“Oh… no,” Siegbert giggled, adjusting his easel. “I’m fine. Perfectly fine.”

He giggled again, smiling giddily, which concerned Shigure. What had gotten into him?

 

***

 

“I’m telling you, Soleil, I think there’s something wrong with him.”

Soleil and her brother were leaning against the walls of the school. Soleil was listening to him and texting Mitama at the same time.

“I’m sure he’s _fine_ ,” she chuckled. “He’s a bit weird, y’know?”

“Yeah, but… all class long, he was either not paying attention, which isn’t like him, or drifting off into space.”

“And you think he’s sick?” Soleil asked as she sent Mitama another message. “Maybe he’s got a crush.”

“A…” Shigure frowned. “That’s… feasible, I suppose.”

“Ooh, I wonder who it is?” Soleil laughed.

“Wait, we don’t know if that’s even true,” Shigure reminded her. “You can’t just go starting rumors.”

“I didn’t say I was going to start rumors! That’s ridiculous.”

 

***

 

“And so apparently, Siegbert might have a crush on somebody, but we’re not supposed to tell anyone.”

 “Oh, I wonder if it’s someone we know,” Sophie said as she and Soleil walked to class together.

“I dunno, but I want to,” Soleil laughed.

“But, wait… I thought you weren’t supposed to tell anyone?”

“Yeah, but you’re my cousin! I can tell you anything, can’t I?”

“Oh, okay.”

“Besides, I’m sure you’ll keep it quiet, right?”

“Oh, of course!” Sophie swore. “Cross-my-heart and hope to die! I’ll keep it super-dupity secret, I promise!”

 

***

 

“Sophie, are you alright?” Caeldori asked. She was spotting Sophie in gym class while she did sit-ups.

“Oh, I’m fine,” Sophie said, suppressing giggles as she came upright.

Caeldori smiled and shook her head. “You know I can see right through you, Sophie.”

“It’s nothing, I swear!”

“Oh, is that so?” Caeldori tightened her grip on Sophie’s knees playfully. “How about I tickle the answer out of you?”

“You wouldn’t dare! Besides, I’m not hiding anything!”

“Are you sure!”

“Yeah! Besides, Soleil told me not to tell anyone, because Siegbert wouldn’t like it if everyone found out that he had a huge crush on some—” Sophie clasped her hand over her mouth.

“Siegbert has a crush on somebody?” Caeldori asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Okay, yes, but that’s a secret. You can’t tell anybody! We don’t even know who it is.”

“Hm.” Caeldori seemed lost in thought, but Sophie didn’t think much of it.

 

***

 

“Are you alright, Caeldori?”

Caeldori sighed. “I don’t know…”

She was sitting with her friends at lunch. Asugi, who had asked the question, pulled several snack cakes out of his bag, offering one to her. “Here. Eat. It’ll make you feel better.”

“Or you could wallow in despair,” Rhajat suggested.

“Well, aren’t you just a bundle of rainbows, huh, Sunshine?”

Caeldori laughed. “Oh, you two. I’m _fine_. I’m just… concerned for a friend, is all.”

“Oh? Enlighten us,” Rhajat cooed.

“Well, I…” she paused. “You can’t tell _anyone_ this, alright?”

“Not a soul,” Asugi promised.

“Hmph. As if I’d take part in something as trivial as gossip,” Rhajat scoffed. “…Do tell.”

“Well… I found out a week or two ago that Shiro has a crush on one of our classmates.”

“What?” Asugi frowned. “That lug?”

“He’s such a dunce,” Rhajat agreed.

“Yes, well… I think his crush likes someone else, unfortunately. Shiro would tell me if he was dating someone, after all…”

“Poor guy,” Asugi sighed, shoving sweets into his mouth.

“Yes,” Rhajat agreed, though she wasn’t paying much attention. She was pulling out her phone.

“What are you doing?” Caeldori inquired.

“Texting Mitama, Selkie, and Velouria,” Rhajat explained, grinning wickedly. “They _have_ to know this.”

“Rhajat!”

“Hey, they deserve to know.”

“Well… at least you’re being a good friend, Asugi.”

“Of course, Caeldori. I’d never go back on my word,” he said as he sent everything to Dwyer, Ignatius, and Hisame from under the table.

 

***

 

“…And so apparently, Shiro has a huge crush on somebody!”

“I _knew_ it was a date!” Forrest gasped. “Oh, I’m going to get him for lying to us!”

Kiragi turned to Percy. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah! Ignatius told me! He’d never lie to me. And he heard it from a reliable source! He heard from Asugi, who heard it from Caeldori, who got it out of Sophie, who got it from Soleil, who got it from Shigure, who got it from Siegbert! I think.”

“Hm…” Forrest frowned. “While I don’t think we should engage idle gossip… Nina and Ophelia _will_ want to hear about this…”

“Ha, ha, you liar; you _live_ for this stuff!”

“Shut up,” Forrest scoffed, throwing a pillow directly into Kiragi’s face. “For all I know, you’re going to run directly off to Hisame to tell him _all_ about it.”

“No! …Well, yes.”

Forrest chuckled, pulling out his phone to text his cousins. “You’re so predictable.”

 

***

 

“Aw, drat…”

“What’s wrong?” Soleil asked, looking up. Ophelia and Nina, two of the three girls with whom she shared a dorm with, were looking dejectedly at their phones.

“Oh… nothing,” Nina sighed. “Just that all our dreams were about to come true, only to be horribly _crushed_.”

“Don’t be so dramatic…”

“Ha! You’re one to talk, Ophelia.”

“What happened?” Soleil asked, sitting up on her bed and knocking over countless plushies in the process.

“Well, it’s just…” Soleil’s cousins shared a quick look, then whispered to each other— though Soleil could hear them just fine.

“ _Should we tell her?_ ”

“ _Sure, it’s not like she cares…_ ”

“Alright,” Nina began, looking back up at Soleil, “So… we found out a while ago that our precious cousin had a _huge_ crush on somebody.”

“But now it appears that Shiro is dating someone,” Ophelia sighed. “A shame, really.”

“ _Ophelia_! We weren’t supposed to address him by name!”

“Well, it’s not as if she wouldn’t figure it out eventually!”

Soleil frowned. “Wait… who had a crush on Shiro?”

“Um…”

“Siegbert.”

“ _Nina_!”

“Well, there’s no point in keeping it secret now, thanks to _you_!”

Soleil pondered this for a moment, then began to chuckled. “Oh, _oh_ , hold on. I have to text Shigure— _right. Now._ ”

Soleil jumped up from her bed and scrambled to the bathroom, laughing widlly.

Nina and Ophelia glanced at each other.

“Do you think Shiro and Siegbert are…?”

“Oh, no; I’m sure they would have _told_ us! It must be someone else.”

“Yeah… maybe.”

 

***

 

“Mr. Shigure, if that phone of yours rings _one more time_ —”

“I’m sorry!” Shigure shouted as he rifled through his bag, “That’s my sister; I have to answer it…”

His hand clasped around the rectangular piece of plastic, blaring loudly “ _Lost in the Waves_ ”, one of his favorite songs… though now, he wasn’t quite enjoying the sound of it. “So sorry, it’ll never happen again, ma’am.”

He ran out of the choir room and into the hallway, leaning against the door as it closed behind him.

“Soleil, I was busy; what could _possibly_ —”

“Quick!” She shouted, the sound extraordinarily loud in his ear. “What was the last thing you saw Shiro and Siegbert do?!”

He pulled the phone away slightly. “What? How does that—”

“Just answer the question!”

“I…” Shigure frowned. “Well, last I saw them, they went out together after their last classes.”

“Oh my gods…”

“What? Siegbert tutors Shiro. What’s so odd about that?”

“Shiro’s grades went up, Shigure; Coach said so at our last practice. He even commented that this ‘tutor business’ should be over…”

“Well…”

“Plus, Shiro was going on about how he had a ‘hot date’ last week…”

Shigure knit his brow for a moment, before his eyes widened in shock. “Wait… you don’t think—”

“Those dorks are dating? Yes, yes I do. And _we_ are going to figure it out!”

“Alright, but… you can’t tell _anyone_.”

“Of course not! I always keep my word. Besides, it’s not like anyone _else_ could possibly know or suspect.”

“Right. Well, as long as no one else knows…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *insert picture of Ron Burgundy saying "well that escalated quickly" here*


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Siegbert and Shiro try to go on a date in the city, but some uninvited guests make it quite hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm, hm. It's been a while, I know. Between summer stuff, school, depression, et cetera, I haven't really had time to work on this. But a few days ago I picked up the notebook that I'd used to plot out this fic, which had nearly been destroyed when a water bottle broke in the same bag it was in; but I was delighted to see that it had not, in fact, been utterly desicated- in fact, the pages that _Something Just Like This's_ plot was on were nearly completely intact! It made me realize that even when shitty stuff happens, not everything is so bad. So, take that shitty metaphor and go with it while you read :^)

“Y’know, this would be funner if either of us knew our way around Valla.”

“It would be ‘more fun’, Shiro.”

“Pfft, whatever.”

The two were on the train, sitting next to each other as they neared their destination. They had been touring Valla— it being a very scenic country— but neither one of them being natives, they didn’t really know their way.

“I could ask Shigure for directions.”

“No…”

“Oh, right.” Shiro frowned dejectedly. “They’re not supposed to know. Right…”

Siegbert looked at his boyfriend and sighed. He figured that Shiro wanted to tell the others, but he also knew that Shiro feared what his father might think.

Honestly, Siegbert was scared of what his _own_ father might think.

And despite what their friends might think, they were _not_ very good at keeping secrets, though they wouldn’t admit it.

So, the two had resorted to taking their dates _off-_ campus, which meant less time spent at the coffee shop, where Dwyer worked and the others often visited (especially now that it was nearly fall break, and end-of-term tests were nigh). Having rarely visited Valla, save for the houses of their relatives who resided there, they decided to tour the city.

Thus, there they were, on the way to a small diner that Shiro had read about online.

Unfortunately, so were their cousins.

Soleil and Shigure were sitting on the other side of the car. They might have sat by Shiro and Siegbert, but the two of them were sitting in the middle, surrounded by people, and Shigure’s social batteries appeared to have completely drained. He, unlike his sister, was _not_ a people person. Luckily for him, Soleil was understanding and they’d gotten seats in the far corner so that her brother only had to sit by her.

The two were chatting about something, and Soleil kept shooting glances at them.

It was making Siegbert _very_ nervous, to say the least.

He leaned over towards Shiro and whispered, “Do you see Soleil?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you… do you think she _knows_?”

“Nah, I think she’s looking at me because of what I did during our last practice. Asugi dared me t—”

“Never mind,” Siegbert interrupted, “I don’t want to know.”

“Haha, well. Although, she does like girls. She may have gaydar.”

“That’s a dumb myth and you know it.”

Shiro shrugged. “I dunno, Sieg. Maybe they just want to go out to eat? Shigure doesn’t like spending time surrounded by other people all that much.”

“I don’t think that’s it… if that were the case, they would’ve just called their parents to pick them up instead of taking the train. They live here in the city, remember?”

“Oh, right.” Shiro frowned and scratched his head. “Well… I don’t know. Whatever it is, I’m sure _we_ don’t have to worry about it.”

 

***

 

“Look! There they are!”

“Soleil, please be quiet.”

“Right, right.”

Shigure sighed. He didn’t want to be here on this crowded train, but he _did_ want to find out what Shiro and Siegbert were up to, a sentiment his sister shared. Thus, when the two of them had informed their roommates that they were heading into the city, Shigure had rushed to get his sister and the two had headed for the train station.

“It’s almost our stop,” Soleil pointed out.

“Okay. Just a—”

Shigure stopped as his phone started ringing.

“It’s probably Mother.” He began hurriedly reaching for his bag, and was met with nothing. “ _Shoot_ , where is it? Soleil, I can’t find my bag!”

“Isn’t it under the seat?”

“No! Soleil, all of the things I need for school are in there!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll find it. Just take a deep breath and smile!”

Shigure did as she said in an effort to calm himself before continuing the search. He could hear his ringtone, so it _was_ somewhere on the car.

He searched the ground frantically as the doors opened and people began to migrate out of the train car, which assured that he was limited on time. He cursed under his breath.

“Um, are you looking for this?”

Shigure looked up, exhaling with relief. “Oh my gods, thank y—” He paused when his eyes met those of his curly-haired cousin’s. “…Er, hello, Siegbert…”

Siegbert frowned, Shigure’s school bag in hand. “Is something wrong?”

Soleil walked up and put her arm around her brother. “What? _No_ , of course not! We just heard our Mom calling us and he freaked out for a bit.”

Shigure forced a smile. “Ah, yes. We forgot to call home yesterday, so our parents are probably worried.”

“Oh. Well, here you go,” Siegbert said, handing Shigure his bag.

“ _Thank_ you.”

“Where’d you find it?” Soleil asked.

“Oh, it slid down to my seat, but I didn’t find it. It was—”

“Hey guys!” Shiro waved from outside of the car. “You all need to get off! The train is leaving!”

“…Him,” Siegbert chuckled. “We were going into the city together, so I guess it’s a stroke of pure luck that we were on the same train as you two!”

“Yeah,” Soleil began mischievously, “but if I might ask, why _were_ you two going into the city together.”

Siegbert paused. “Well—”

Before he could answer, the train’s conductor came on over the intercom.

“…What is he saying?” Siegbert asked.

“I dunno. Something in conductor-speak,” Soleil joked. “He’s probably saying that we should get off, though.”

The three of them hopped off of the car together, joining Shiro on the station. Shiro promptly leaned on Siegbert, which he tended to do, though it was beginning to get harder as Siegbert was catching up to him in height. “Hey, guys. What’s up?”

“They were just asking about our little trek into the city,” Siegbert explained to Shiro before turning to his cousins. “We were preparing to head into the city to study. I thought it would be nice for us to get a change in environments.”

Shigure continued smiling. “Oh, of course. It’s always nice to get a change in pace every once in a while.”

“Well, _hey_ ,” Soleil began, “now that we’re here, why don’t we all go _together_?!”

Shiro and Siegbert glanced at each other.

“Yeah, sure, why not?” Shiro said, shrugging.

“I don’t see any problem with it!” Siegbert agreed.

“Great!” Soleil laughed, “we should get going! We’ll be right after you two, I just want a word with my brother. Okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” Shiro agreed. “C’mon, Siegbert. Let’s talk about my Calculus homework.”

“I thought you did that!”

“Haha, I lied. I haven’t even started.”

As the two walked away bickering, Soleil leaned over to Shigure. “They’re clearly hiding something.”

“Yes, I agree. Let’s investigate.”

 

***

 

“They’re onto us.”

“Of course they are. What are we doing? Do you know how many cousins we have? At least one of them is going to find out at some point! They’re all so nosy.”

“But Soleil and Shigure of all people…”

“I told you: gaydar, dude.”

Siegbert rolled his eyes before casting a quick glance back at their cousins. Shigure and Soleil were walking and talking— well, Soleil was talking. Shigure was mostly grimacing whilst glancing, unenthused, at the people they walked past. They’d since exited the train station and were nearly at the diner.

“Let’s mess with them.”

“What? No!”

“C’mon, Sieg; it’ll be fun!”

“Well…”

“Aha! I’m wearing away at your brittle defenses!”

“Pfft. Don’t be such a dork.” Siegbert sighed. “Well, fine. But only for a little while.”

“Al- _right_.” Shiro cackled. “Let the fun begin.”

He promptly turned around to face Soleil and Shigure, who had been lagging behind. “Hey, guys! Let’s all get a table together at the diner! It’ll be fun!”

Soleil and Shigure paused. They’d clearly been deep in conversation before Shiro had interrupted.

“If you say so,” Shigure agreed.

 

***

 

“Now what?” Soleil whispered to Shigure as they entered the diner. “We can’t talk about them if they’re sitting _right there_.”

“I know. Shiro’s a genius.” Shigure snorted as a waitress handed them their menus. “Sorry. I don’t think I can say that with a straight face.”

“I don’t think I can say anything with a straight face.”

“Soleil.”

“Heheh, sorry. I couldn’t help it!”

Shigure rolled his eyes, chuckling a bit. “Here, I’ve got a plan. We wait until Shiro is gone, because Siegbert is weak and gives in easily to guilt.”

“Ooh, good point.”

“What’re you guys whispering about?” Shiro asked as they sat down in a booth, the siblings across from their cousins.

“Oh, sorry. We’re just worried about Nina. Did you know she got grounded?”

“Oh, yeah.” Siegbert sighed as he put on his glasses and perused his menu. “I swear, she’s insane, crossing her parents— _especially_ Aunt Camilla.”

“What’d she do?” Shiro asked.

“Got caught stealing confiscated items back from teachers who took stuff from our classmates. She got back Velouria’s weird trash that she keeps bringing to class. It was cool,” Soleil grinned.

Siegbert shrugged. “At least it was for a good cause. I’d die if I were ever grounded, though.”

“Yeah, well, we can’t all be Mr. Perfect and never get grounded, Siegbert. Just look at me and Shigure.”

“ _You_ got me grounded!” Shigure protested. “He made me pretend to be his dad on the phone so he could get out of school last year!”

“Well it’s not _my_ fault you two sound so much alike. And it wasn’t just me! Mitama did it too.”

“And I will never forgive either of you.”

They stopped talking as a waitress came over, one that they recognized as Felicia, a friend of their parents.

“Hello, kids!” She chirped, holding up a small pad of paper and a pen. “Are you having fun today?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Soleil answered, smiling at her.

“That’s good! I know school can be hard. It’s good to take a break every once in a while. Now, can I get your drink orders?”

 

The meal was uneventful for a short time. They all ate while Shiro and Siegbert studied (Shigure was surprised they’d _actually brought_ schoolbooks; he’d thought they were lying).

At least, it was uneventful until Shiro asked one particular question.

“Oh, hey, Soleil, I forgot that I was supposed to give you this letter. Do you know what it’s about?”

“Letter?” Soleil frowned. “What letter?”

“It’s from a girl I used to go to school with in Hoshido. Do you know here? Name’s… Mitama?”

Shigure dropped his fork directly into his food. Soleil nearly spit out her drink, her face lighting up.

“Oooooh, _Mitama_?” Soleil gushed, clapping her hands together. “Let me see, let me see!”

“Um, Soleil, maybe you should wait until after our meal?”

“Nuh-uh! I’ve been waiting so long for her to call me!” Soleil snatched the paper out of Shiro’s hands. “Let’s see… ‘ _My dear, sweet Soleil/How I yearn for your presence/Please, call upon me._ ’ Oh my gods, Shigure, she gave me her number! EEEEEEEEEEEEE!” Soleil held the note close to her chest, squealing with delight.

Shigure shot a look at Shiro, pleading with his eyes, mouthing, _What have you done?_

“Oh, I’ve got to go outside and call her right now!” Soleil shouted, shoving breadsticks into her bag and racing outside. “Siegbert, get my tab, scrub!”

“Whatever you say, Soleil.”

“Wait, sister—!”

With a ring of the bells at the door, Soleil was gone.

Shigure turned to his cousins slowly.  “Pardon me, Shiro, but _what the heck_?! WHY? Why would you do this?”

Shiro shrugged. “I dunno. Me and Mitama go waaayyy back, so she asked me to give Soleil the letter during soccer practice. Forgot. Oh well! She has it now, right?”

“I don’t know, Shiro,” Siegbert said, knitting his brown in concern. “She gets ahead of herself sometimes, you know?”

“I know more than anyone,” Shigure reminded them. “Because, you know. _I grew up with her_.”

“Yeah. You should probably go get her,” Siegbert said, chewing on his bottom lip in concern.

“But—”

“Don’t worry about me; I’ll stay here and keep this slugabed in line.”

“Hey…”

Shigure nodded. “Thank you, Siegbert. I promise to repay you both when we’re back at the dorms.”

He turned and ran, shouting, “SOLEIL!!” as he began running down the street towards his sister.

 

***

 

As soon as Shigure raced outside, Siegbert and Shiro burst into snickers.

“They fell for it!”  Shiro guffawed.

Siegbert giggled. “I— I can’t believe I just did that. Oh gods!”

“You’re like, really good at forging handwriting,” Shiro commented, picking up his drinking. “Like, wow. That could come in handy, you know.”

“I learned it from calligraphy and cursive classes. And don’t get any ideas— I’m not going to go around forging Ryoma’s signature for you.”

“Aw…”

Siegbert returned to his food. “How’d you even get Mitama to agree to this, anyways?”

“She owes me. At our old school I saved her ass who-knows-how-many times by convincing Shigure to pretend to be her dad on the phone so that he could call her in sick and give her more time to sleep.”

“Wait— that really _worked_?”

“Yeah, I used to get him to do it for me too. He sounds like, really similar to our dads? It’s really weird honestly.”

“That _is_ weird. People tell me I sound like my dad all the time.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I don’t get it. They say we sound like the same person though,” Siegbert shrugged. “Oh well. I’m happy to be anything like my father.”

“Ha! I wish I could say the same.” Shiro sighed, crossing his arm. “I don’t know what people see in my dad, but… people always wish I was more like him, y’know?”

Siegbert leaned his head on Shiro shoulder. “I don’t. If you were more like him, you wouldn’t be _you._ And I’m not dating Ryoma.”

Shiro chuckled, put a hand to his neck. “Yeah, well… I guess I’ll just have to keep being me, then.”

Siegbert smiled, nuzzling further into the sleeve of Shiro’s shirt. “You think Mitama will keep them distracted for long?”

“Oh, yeah. She promised to like, let Soleil down easy I guess? So Soleil’ll probably want to go home with Shigure afterwards.”

“So… she’s not _actually_ going on a date with Mitama?”

“I dunno. That’s up to Mitama, I guess. Right now she’s just going to get Soleil to go home.”

“Hm.” Siegbert looked up at Shiro. “I feel kind of bad, but… I’m glad we get this time alone.”

Shiro smiled. “Yeah. Me too.”

Smiling softly, Siegbert closed his eyes and leaned closer.

“Um… you tired, bro?” Shiro asked.

Siegbert opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow quizzically.

“What?”

“I was trying to kiss you.”

“Oh. _Oh!_ ” Shiro chuckled. “Right. Sorry. I’m not quite good at this dating thing yet.” He paused. “Can we, uh… can we try again?”

Laughing, Siegbert leaned in close. “Of course,” he said as he pressed his lips against Shiro’s.

 

***

 

“Oooh, _Mitama_ , you’re so _sweet_. If you were a pastry, you’d be a _cutie_ pie!”

Shigure covered his face, being forced to listen to the half of the conversation that was his sister’s terrible pickup lines.

“Yeah! We should _totes_ go out sometime. To do what? Well, do you like tea? Because I like ‘u’!”

“ _Soleil…_ ”

Soleil turned to her brother, putting her hand to the phone, grinning. “ _What?_ It’s an alphabet joke! Girls love puns. It’s a known fact.”

Shigure rolled his eyes.

“Sorry, Mitama, just my brother. Anyways, where were we? …Oh, what?!” Soleil’s face split into a wide, excited smiled. “You’d just _love_ to go out sometime?! That’s GREAT! I mean, uh… cool, cool! Saturday at five, then?”

Shigure sighed. He couldn’t believe it. Those awful, _gods-_ awful pickup lines had actually worked on somebody.

And a _poet,_ of all people.

“Right! See you then. Bye~!”

Soleil turned her phone off.

“Well?”

Soleil turned, grabbed her brother’s shoulders, and screamed, jumping up and down. “Oh my _gods!!_ ”

“S-Soleil!” Shigure grabbed her arms and held her down, glancing around nervously. “There are _people_ here! They’re staring!”

Soleil chortled. “Sorry, but I’m SO excited! We have to go tell Shiro and Siegbert right now! I have to thank Shiro for giving me that note.”

“I don’t know, we should probably just—” Shigure stopped, frowning.

“What? What’s wrong, Shigure?”

“Shiro said he was supposed to give you that note at soccer practice.”

“What? But we haven’t had soccer practice in like… days. And he skipped the last practice. Haha, man, Coach was _pissed_ ,” Soleil mused.

“That last practice was Tuesday, right?”

“Yeah.”

Shigure looked her in the eyes. “Soleil. He went to town with Siegbert on Tuesday.”

They looked each other in the eyes for a minute, marinating in this stew of lies and trickery.

“Those bastards set us up,” Soleil whispered.

Shigure sighed mournfully. “It would seem so.”

“Well, c’mon!” Soleil took her brother’s hand. “We gotta give those idiots a piece of our mind! Let’s go back and give them what-for.”

“Right.” Shigure and Soleil ran back to the diner, full speed ahead. When they reached the establishment, they immediately went to the window, looking for their cousins.

“There!” Soleil pointed. Shiro and Siegbert were still eating in the booth; Siegbert had moved to where Shigure and Soleil had been eating, across from Shiro. They were talking, and Shiro was telling a story about something that was apparently highly amusing, as Siegbert hand his hand to his mouth, laughing cheerfully, a slight blush to his cheeks. He looked into Shiro’s eyes with a serene smile upon his face, looking content and relieved like Shigure had never seen him before. Shiro was almost bright red, the goofiest grin painted across his visage. The two looked at each other, and Shigure could see that he and Soleil had been complete idiots in trying to interfere. He’d never seen the two of them happier.

If he needed any more confirmation that the two of them were, in fact, dating, Siegbert took Shiro’s hand, and the two leaned across the table to kiss.

Shigure smiled. “Soleil, let’s go home.”

“What? But it’s just getting good!”

“Let’s leave them be. You don’t want to embarrass the happy couple, now, do you?”

Soleil looked like that was _exactly_ what she wanted, but she seemed to understand her brother’s meaning. “Yeah. Okay.”

The siblings turned and began walking towards the train station, ready to head back to school. Behind them, they left the cheery little diner and the love-struck boys that were still laughing together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter should be up soonish? Idk this was the biggest problem chapter so it shouldn't be too much of a problem to get the next chapter out. Thanks for the read!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Siegbert and Shiro attend one of their friend's parties. Saying things don't "go as planned" is an understatement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW OKAY, this chapter was REALLY HARD TO WRITE FOR SOME REASON??? Maybe it's because I've never been to a party in my life haha. But thanks to my friends on the Gay Fire Emblem Discord (and their countless memes that we've created centering around this fic alone) have put me back on track! Just a warning though, there's some underage drinking in this chapter (GASP! Those wascally kids.)  
> Lol I guess things didn't go according to Siegkaku  
> (t/n Siegkaku means Siegplan)

“What did you get on question five?”

“Shiro, you and I both know that I have absolutely no idea what’s going on in that class.”

Shiro and Asugi were walking back to their room, having finished their last class of the day, though they wouldn’t be there for long— everyone was preparing for a (super secret) party that Nina was putting on off-campus.

“Do you think there’ll be any candy?” Asugi mused.

“I mean… yeah? Probably. Otherwise I’ll hit up a vending machine for you.”

“Thanks, Shiro. You’re a true bro.”

“Shiro! Asugi!”

The two turned to see Nina and Ophelia walking down the hallway towards them.

“Salutations, boys!” Ophelia said cheerfully. “How fortuitous that we run into you now!”

“We were just wondering if you guys would be showing,” Nina said, putting a hand on her hip.

“Oh, yeah. We were planning on going with Soleil and the rest of the soccer team.”

Ophelia frowned. “Ah, Soleil’s not going to practice today. Didn’t you know?”

Shiro’s eyes widened. “What? No. Is she okay? She’s not sick, is she?”

Nina scoffed, rolling her eyes. “She’s _fine._ The only ‘sick’ she is is _sick-_ eningly in love.”

“Soleil got a girlfriend!” Ophelia announced cheerfully. “Oh, isn’t it just joyous news? We’re so proud of her!”

“Whoa, really? That’s great!” Shiro exclaimed.

“Hm…” Asugi stroked his chin. “Never would’ve put Rainbows down as one big on monogamy.”

“Ugh, she’s so sappy all the time now,” Nina grumbled, crossing her arms. “It’s all, ‘my GIRLFRIEND’ this and ‘my DARLING’ that. Honestly, lovey-dovey Soleil is worse than constantly- pining Soleil. I don’t know how Mitama stands it.”

Shiro frowned. “Wait… Mitama?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. You know her, right?”

“Y-Yeah, we’ve always gone to school together. I just thought…”

“Oh, _right_.” Nina snapped her fingers in realization. “Soleil told me you’re the reason they got together.” She grimaced and punched him in the shoulder, though her weak thieving hands did little to hurt his muscles of steel. “Thanks for being the perpetrator of my own personal hell, fucko.”

Shiro rubbed his arm. “She and Shigure were in town with me and Siegbert. You, uh… she didn’t say anything… weird about me, right? Or, you know… Siegbert?”

“I don’t believe so,” Ophelia replied. “Although she _did_ say that she went back to the diner after calling Mitama, but they didn’t go in because they didn’t want to interrupt you two.”

_Shit._

“Interrupt us?”

“Your studying,” Ophelia clarified.

_Oh, thank the gods._

“What?” Nina raised a sly eyebrow, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. “You’re not implying—”

“Oh, fuck off, Nina,” Asugi sighed, “we all know that Shiro’s only love is and will always be chicken.”

Shiro crossed his arms, trying not to let them see that he was a dirty liar. “Yeah, Nina. Chicken and I are in a very committed relationship.”

Nina rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Just be there, okay? The party won’t be any fun without boys. You know, the ones that _aren’t_ my cousins.”

The girls waved as they walked away. Shiro let out a breath as soon as they were gone.

“You okay, dude?” Asugi asked.

“Yeah. Just—”

“Worried that they were going to find out you and Sieg are dating?”

Shiro turned. “How did you—”

“Went through your phone. You need to learn how to delete your internet history, by the way.”

“Wait, you—”

“I got grounded again and wanted to text Dwyer. It’s beside the point,” Asugi said, waving his hand.

“I think it’s VERY ‘side’ the point!”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Also, ‘chicken’ is not a very good password. Anyways,” Asugi continued, “you guys have done a decent job of hiding your relationship so far, but you’re going to have to tell everyone eventually.”

Shiro pursed his lips. “I know.”

“I don’t know why you’re even keeping it a secret. We all love and support you no matter what, y’know? Besides, I’m pretty sure that almost exactly zero of our friends are one hundred percent straight.”

“I think he’s just worried. He worries a lot, y’know?”

“Do you think he’s embarrassed to be dating you?”

Shiro glanced away. “N-No… I just think he’s worried about what his family will think. His dad’s… pretty big in Nohr. I don’t know how happy Xander would be to find out he’s dating a guy, let alone a guy that’s _me_.”

“And what about you? Or is it your dad, too?”

Shiro put his hands in his pockets. “I don’t give a shit what my dad thinks.”

“Hmph. You and I both know that isn’t true. Even I care what my dad thinks sometimes.” Asugi sighed, crossing his arms. “Loathe as I am to admit it… he is still my dad. Even if I don’t like it, or even love him, he still raised me. What he thinks impacts my life whether I like it or not.”

“Yeah. I know. It’s just… my dad’s always so overbearing. He expects so much of me, but he never tells me anything, or even _why_ he wants me to be so perfect. If he finds out that I… y’know… am not exclusively attracted to girls… he probably wouldn’t like it much. Especially now that I’m actually dating a dude.”

“I feel you. It sucks being another Saizo.” Asugi sighed. “Nothing I do is ever good enough for the family name, y’know? If Uncle Kaze had been just a few minutes earlier being born, he’d be Uncle Saizo. Midori would be Cousin Saizo. And I could just be… I dunno. Another average Joe. I could do whatever I wanted. But that just wasn’t my lot in life, I guess.”

“Hm… I guess you’re right.”

“Besides, your dad’s reaction to you being bi or gay or whatever can’t be anywhere _near_ what my dad’s reaction is going to be when _I_ tell him.”

“Wait… you—”

“Hey, hey, keep it down, will ya? I’m keeping _your_ secret.”

“Right, right. Anyways, question five…”

“I don’t know, man, ask your nerd boyfriend, I don’t know squat about this stuff.”

 

“SIEGBERT!”

“Yes, I’m sitting less than five feet away from you, you don’t have to shout.”

Shiro had just run into the room; Siegbert was standing in front of his dresser, putting clothes away. He’d stopped momentarily to listen to his excitable boyfriend.

“Okay, don’t panic, but. I have some less-than-awesome news,” Shiro announced.

Siegbert closed his book and looked up concernedly. “Why? Is something wrong?”

“I think Soleil and Shigure saw us kiss in the diner.”

Siegbert stopped, dropping his books and papers, which went in all directions across the floor.

“Ah, shit, Sieg—”

“ _W-What_?” Siegbert stammered, hands shaking. “A-Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure.”

“I thought you said Mitama would keep them occupied!”

“I’m sorry! I guess Soleil’s dumb pickup lines worked on her.”

Siegbert put his hands in his hair. “Oh, gods… they… they didn’t say anything, did they?”

“I don’t think so.” Shiro pulled up his own desk chair to sit next to Siegbert, holding out his arms. “C’mere.”

Siegbert leaned his head against Shiro’s chest, the two wrapping their arms around each other.

“Don’t worry. Nobody else knows. Well… except Asugi, apparently.”

“For the love of…”

“B-But like I said,” Shiro continued, “don’t worry. If they find out, they find out. And if anybody says anything, I’ll whack ‘em for you.”

Siegbert chuckled, sniffing and wiping his eyes. “Don’t do that. You’ll get in trouble.”

“Ha! I’d get suspended a million times for you.”

“That’s… not exactly reassuring.”

“Don’t worry.” Shiro pulled his boyfriend close and kissed him. “I don’t plan on getting suspended anytime soon.”

“That’s better.” Siegbert sat up straighter, running his hands through his now-disheveled hair to make it look more presentable. “Well… Soleil, Shigure and Asugi are the only people who know, now.”

“Should we talk to them about it?” Shiro asked.

“Hm…” Siegbert smiled. “Maybe. Or…”

“Ooh, you have a devious look on your face. I like this new bad boy streak of yours, Sieg.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

 

***

 

“Wow, nice of you losers to finally show up!” Nina scoffed as she opened the door for Siegbert, Shiro, Shigure, and Asugi. She put a hand on her hips and scoffed. “Should I even _let_ you in? You’re, like, not even _fashionably_ late— you’re just actually late.”

“I brought snacks,” Asugi offered.

Nina opened the door wider. “Come in!”

Nina had bribed Dwyer to let them use his parents’ basement for “studying”, and since they were out of town, the kids could do what they pleased. Most of their friends were already there. Music was playing; a few people were dancing. In another corner, Scrabble was being played, friendships were being ruined, and Hisame was arguing with Soleil that, no, “kittens” with a “z” did _not_ count as a word.

“Snacks!” Ophelia cheered, snatching the boxes of candy out of Asugi’s hands.

“Thank god,” Dwyer sighed from where he was drinking from a red Solo cup. “Everybody was fighting over the peanuts because _some people_ forgot to put out proper snacks like they were _supposed_ to.”

“Sorry that it’s so hard to find decent snacks on a budget.”

“Was… was that a haiku, Mitama?”

“…Maybe.”

“Whoa,” Shiro said, putting his hands on his hips as he and his roommates entered. “Is it just me or is this party like… really, really lame?”

“Oh, like _you_ could do better when we’re literally only a few blocks away from campus.” Nina argued, crossing her arms. “We had to keep this party lowkey. Special invite only.”

“You know who knows how to party?” Shiro snapped his fingers. “ _Midori._ Asugi’s cousin. She’s always keeping it lit.”

“No freshmen allowed! What do you take me for?”

Shiro shrugged. “Well, what’ve you got?”

“Board games, booze, and…” Nina frowned. “Actually, that’s about it. A bunch of us still haven’t arrived.”

“Wait,” Siegbert, who’d had no problem until now, interrupted. “Booze? A-As in… _alcohol_?”

“ _Aw_ , is Mr. Hall Monitor gonna _tattle_?” Nina joked.

Siegbert looked down and rubbed his arm. “N-No…”

“Hey, leave him alone,” Shiro spoke up, wrapping an arm around Siegbert. “Some people are above sneaking cases out of their parents’ liquor cabinets, Nina.”

Nina stepped back, lifting her hands. “ _Whoa_ , Shiro. Fine. Jeez.”

Siegbert smiled at Shiro. “Thanks.”

“No prob, Bob.”

“Huh,” Asugi muttered from where he was trying to retrieve his candy from Ophelia and Soleil, to no avail. “Sudsmaster Shiro, campaigning _against_ alcohol?”

Siegbert raised an eyebrow at his roommate. “ _Sudsmaster_ Shiro?”

Shiro turned red, his nervous laugh turning into a nervous cough. “It’s, uh… an old nickname.”

“Yeah, after he _chugged an entire six-pack of beer_.”

“You did _what_?!”

“It was like a year ago, stop bringing it up!”

Siegbert shook his head as many of the Hoshidan kids began laughing at the memory.

“He— he was so _plastered_ ,” Asugi laughed.

“I honestly couldn’t believe he was still alive,” Caeldori admitted.

Hisame rolled his eyes. “Honestly, Shiro, you’re such a child.”

“Hey, hey, I’ve matured since then!” Shiro argued.

Siegbert crossed his arms, chuckling. “I’d hope so. I can’t be caught fraternizing with a common delinquent.”

Shiro put a hand over his heart. “B-But… _dude_.”

“Ugh, just get _in here_ so we can hurry up and play some games,” Nina scoffed. “Gods, you’re such a _couple._ ”

The two shared a wary glance.

“Whatever, get in here. Somebody brought Cards Against Humanity! And I play to win.”

 

About an hour into the party, and Siegbert was, as expected, in the corner alone and leaning against the wall, watching all of his friends have fun.

He’d opted out of their Cards Against Humanity game after somebody played “Oedipus complex”, knowing the game was bound to get worse (which it did). Then they started dancing, which Siegbert was terrible at. Currently they were playing some sort of game that involved taking a shot every time you lost.

“Hey,” Dwyer said, scooting over to the corner with a red Solo cup in his hand.

“H-Hey,” Siegbert mumbled, looking away nervously.

Dwyer took a sip. “Parties are lame, huh?”

“Yeah.” Siegbert smiled hesitantly. “Not as lame as us though. I mean, we’re sitting in the corner.”

Dwyer shrugged. “My house, I do what I want.” He took a long sip from his cup.

“No offense, but… how can you stand to drink that stuff?” Siegbert asked, making a face.

“What, this?”

“Yeah. I mean, I know some people actually like alcohol, but you’re—”

“This is soup.”

Siegbert stared. “…What do you mean, it’s soup?”

“I mean I’m drinking soup.”

“… _Why_ are you drinking soup at a party?”

“Fuck you, that’s why,” Dwyer said, looking Siegbert dead in the eyes as he lifted the cup to his lips.

Siegbert felt the sudden desire to scoot farther away from Dwyer in that moment.

“Hey, Sieg!” Shiro called from the sea of drunk toddlers. “Sieg!”

“I think he’s calling for you,” Dwyer murmured, drinking his soup. “I’ll leave you to it.” He turned to the crowd as he walked away. “Hey guys! There’s soup upstairs if you want it!”

“Soup?!” Forrest’s voice yelled distinctly over the crowd before he started climbing over bodies to get to the basement stairs. Siegbert would never understand his cousin’s obsession with soup. He wondered where he got it from.

Siegbert looked up as Shiro ran towards him. “Hey, sorry I’ve been, uh—”

“Occupied?” He supplied sheepishly.

Shiro laughed nervously, rubbing his neck like he often did. “Uh, yeah. Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Siegbert assured him. “I’m just not a big party person.”

“Well, Nina says we’re going to play ‘Never-Have-I-Ever’, and we’re going to be playing to ten with our fingers instead of taking shots. Do you want to play?”

“Are you sure.”

“Yeah, you’ll like it! You’ll probably win, to be honest.”

“Well…” Siegbert sighed, unable to think of anything better to do. “I suppose.”

“Yay!” Shiro grabbed his boyfriend’s arm and pulled him out into the crowd. “C’mon, you’ll love it. If you win, you get bragging rights! Who doesn’t love those?”

“Did you get Siegbert?” Nina asked from where all the others sat in something resembling a circle.

“Yep!” Shiro replied as he and Siegbert sat down. Siegbert sandwiched himself uncomfortably between Shiro and Soleil.

“Hey, nerd,” she said, tousling his hair. “Nice of you to finally _join_ us.”

“H-Hey—”

“Alright, folks, let’s get started,” Nina announced. “The rules are simple.” She raised her hand, pointing to it. “Somebody says ‘never-have-I-ever’ and says something they may or may not have done in their lives. Everyone who has—” she pressed her thumb against the palm of her hand— “puts a finger down. Once you get to ten, you’re out. Last one left standing, wins. Understand?”

There were mumbles of confirmation throughout the entire group.

“Good. Alright, we’ll start with… hm…” she tapped her chin, scanning the circle, before pointing. “Shigure!”

Shigure sighed and rolled his eyes. “Of course. Pick on _me_ , why don’t you.” He thought for a moment. “Very well… never have I ever cheated on a test.”

There was a plethora of collective groans as people began to put their fingers down, including Shiro.

“C’mon, Shigure, that’s not fair!”

Shigure smirked, raising an eyebrow smugly. “Some of us are actually good at school, Asugi.”

Asugi raised a fist playfully. “Why, I outta—”

“My turn!” Ophelia, who sat next to Shigure, announced. “Hm, never have I ever… drank alcohol!”

“Booooo!” Nina shouted from across the circle as she put yet another finger down. “Low blow, Ophelia!”

The game went on, with thing such as “never-have-I-ever skipped school” and mundane ones such as “never-have-I-ever been to Nohr/Hoshido” and even things that made Siegbert want to pray for forgiveness for his friends’ sins such as “never-have-I-ever shouted the name of one of the first dragons during sexy times”. When it came to a point when nearly half of those in attendance were at nine fingers, Siegbert only had one down.

“Forrest!” Nina shouted. “It’s your turn.”

Siegbert’s cousin tapped his chin. Though he still had over half of his fingers left up, Siegbert had learned some new things about Forrest that he was sure his Uncle Leo wouldn’t be happy to find out.

“Let’s see,” Forrest began, cocking his head, pipe curls bouncing around his face. “Never have I ever… kissed somebody of the same gender.”

There was some groaning (and some shouting about being called out from Soleil) as the majority of the people in the circle put their fingers down.

“What?!” Nina, one of the two to three people to not put a finger down (surprising, because she was one of the first to nine), shouted. She looked around. “Almost _all_ of you?!” Her eyes landed on Siegbert. “Sieg! You too?!”

Siegbert’s face burned as he glanced away.

“Dude!” Her face lit up. “You’re gay? And you didn’t _tell_ me?!”

Before Siegbert could fail to defend himself, Soleil jumped to his aid and said, “Oh, come on, Nina, it’s not like he just confessed that he’s growing a third hand out of his stomach. Gay people exist outside of your shitty smut novels.”

“Besides.” Siegbert was surprised that Rhajat of all people had spoken up, as she rarely said anything (though she did give him some terrifying glares). “Just because you kiss someone of the same gender doesn’t mean you’re gay. Bisexual people exist.”

Shiro stood and put his hands on his hips. “Yeah, Nina. That’s pretty shallow of you to not look further than a guy’s sexuality. Heck, I’ve kissed dudes and _enjoyed_ kissing dudes thank you very much!” He turned to everyone else. “I mean, come on! Who here _hasn’t_ kissed a dude and enjoyed it? Aside from Forrest and Soleil, obviously.”

Nina rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. “Ugh, fine.” She looked away and muttered, “Spoilsports.”

“Th-thanks,” Siegbert stammered quietly as Shiro sat down, letting out a grateful sigh of relief.

“Anytime, bud,” Shiro said, clapping him on the back so hard he nearly coughed up a lung. “Welp, I’m already out after last round, anyways. Avenge me, Sieg! Win this pointless game!”

Siegbert laughed. “I’ll try my best.”

 

***

 

The game went on for nearly an hour and at a certain point the only people left were Siegbert and Sophie, the two biggest do-gooders there. Eventually they just started doing random things (“Never-have-I-ever fallen off of my horse!” “No fair! You know how Avel gets!”).

Meanwhile the others went off to do their own thing. Some of them continued watching Sophie and Siegbert, placing bets on who they thought might come out on top, while the rest decided to find other ways to amuse themselves.

“Ooh! Ooh! I know!” Nina said, snapping her fingers. “We’ll play ‘Seven Minutes in Heaven’!”

Asugi scoffed. “What are we, teenagers in a movie from our parents’ generation?”

“Just for that, you’re the first person in the closet.”

“Before I can even come out of it in the first place? Shame.”

“What?”

“What?”

“Wait, Nina, hold on—” Shiro began, before something clicked in his brain. “Hey, you know, I think Shigure is looking a little bored.”

Shigure, who hadn’t been paying attention, looked up from his cup. “What are you talking abo—?”

Nina squealed, cackling loudly. “We have our first two victims!”

“Wait a minute,” Shigure started, beginning to realize what was going on.

“Nope!” Nina began to shove Asugi towards Dwyer’s parents’ broom closet. “You two are going whether you like it or not!”

Shigure tried to run, but it was too late. Shiro grabbed the back of his cousin’s shirt, pulled him back, and hoisted him over his shoulder.

“Hey!” Shigure beat his fists against Shiro’s back. “What in gods’ names—”

“REVENGE!” Shiro shouted, tossing him into the open closet with Asugi before slamming the door.

“FUCK OFF!”  Asugi yelled from inside.

Nina stuck her tongue out, starting a timer on her watch. “Welp, we’ll see what happens after seven minutes are up.”

Shiro smiled. “Yes indeed.”

“Guys, get over here!” Soleil shouted. “Sieg and Soph are both down to one finger!”

“Ooh!” Nina ran over to where everyone surrounded the two players. Shiro leaned against the closet to prevent Asugi and Shigure from escaping, crossing his arms.

Siegbert and Sophie stared each other in the eyes intently.

“Never-have-I-ever eaten food off the floor after five seconds were up!” Sophie shouted. “Damn it!” She cursed as Siegbert’s finger still didn’t go down.

“Never-have-I-ever copied someone else’s homework,” Siegbert said.

“Ha! Jokes on you, I do all of my own homework!” Sophie smiled, before beginning to squirm. “Um… I’m out of good ideas…”

Everybody who had placed bets on Sophie groaned. Shiro smiled, muttering, “ _Atta boy, Sieg_ ”, knowing that Caeldori now owed him ten bucks.

Sophie shrugged. “Oh, well! I don’t wanna forfeit so I’ll just say something completely random.” She twisted up her lips, thinking, while Siegbert smiled, no doubt knowing victory was ensured. “Ooh! I got a super-duper crazy one. Never have I ever made out with my roommate!”

Siegbert’s face fell.

Sophie giggled at the craziness of her suggestion before realizing that her opponent wasn’t laughing with her. She stopped, frowning. “Uh, Sieggy?”

Shiro stared. Siegbert was staring at his shaking hands.

“Wait…” Sophie looked up at Shiro. “You mean…”

Siegbert put his singular remaining finger down.

Sophie’s mouth dropped. “B-But… this means…”

“Ah, shit,” Shiro began, bracing himself.

“I won!” Sophie shouted, standing and throwing her hands in the air.

Everybody in the room seemed really confused, torn between cheering for Sophie and looking between Shiro and Siegbert. Siegbert covered his face as he began to turn bright red. Shiro was blushing harder than he ever had in his life— all eyes in the room seemed to be on him, and not in a good, “people-are-paying-attention-to-me!” way.

“Wait…” Dwyer, who had just walked to where Shiro was standing, “You—”

Without a word, Shiro grabbed Dwyer by the scruff of his neck, opened the closet door, and stuffed him inside, slamming it shut and locking it.

“Oh my god! You kissed _Shiro_?!” Forrest shouted as he put two and two together, effectively ruining everything by drawing all of the attention to them.

Shiro clenched his jaw as people began bombarding him with questions.

“Omigod, WHAT?!”

“You KISSED? WHEN?!”

“Made out? Wait wait wait, define ‘ _made out_ ’!”

“I KNEW IT!”

“Shut up, I guessed that like three months ago!”

“KIRAGI OWES ME TWENTY BUCKS.”

“Shiro made out with a dude? Shiro likes guys? I thought he was just joking…”

Shiro looked away. He rarely felt embarrassed, but mortification slowly crept its way into him like blush to his face.

“Guys. GUYS!” Soleil shouted. When nobody ceased, she took a deep breath and screamed, “HEY, MOTHERFUCKERS, LISTEN UP!”

That got them quieted down.

Soleil glanced around at the crowd, shaking her head. “Come on, you walnuts, how do you think Siegbert and Shiro feel about you screaming about them like a pack of animals and treating them like a circus act? Can’t we just go back to partygoing and pretend this never happened?”

Whispers swept the crowd. Siegbert looked devastated, hands covering his mouth as he looked to the ground with tears in his eyes, shaking, looking as though he wanted to hurl. Shiro wanted to run over to him, but he felt… afraid.

Why? He’d never had any qualms about their relationship before. But with so many people around, judging them— it was just unnerving.

Soleil continued talking, effectively distracting everyone else but quickly glanced at Shiro, her meaning clear. _Go._

He closed his eyes, shaking it off, running over to his boyfriend.

“Sieg, are you…?”

Siegbert closed his eyes. “I feel like throwing up. I don’t want to be here. Please, gods, let it _end_ already.”

“Hey,” Shiro said, grabbing Siegbert shoulder’s and turning him around so that they could face each other. “Listen. They’re all looking at Soleil right now.”

Siegbert stared into Shiro’s eyes tearfully. “I didn’t want it to be this way.”

“I know, Sieg. This absolutely blows. I’m going through the same thing as you.” Shiro cracked a smile. “But isn’t that better than going through it alone.”

His boyfriend smiled halfheartedly, sniffing. “Yeah. I guess it is.”

“See? There’s my happy Sieg.” Shiro pulled him close for a hug. “Don’t worry about what they say. They’re our friends, remember?”

Siegbert gripped the fabric of Shiro’s shirt tightly. “Yeah… yeah.”

Shiro grabbed Siegbert’s hands, pulling him up to stand while Soleil continued distracting their friends, having moved on to an elaborate metaphor about how infatuation and love were like mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell, which Shiro didn’t get, but as long as it worked.

“Hey, assholes!” Shiro shouted.

Everyone turned to them. Siegbert looked away again, beet red. Shiro steeled himself, taking in a deep breath.

“Okay, look,” Shiro said, sighing. “I know you’re still not over the whole ‘we kissed’ thing, but I just want to make one thing clear.” He lifted Siegbert’s hand, still locked in his own. “See him? I love him. More than anything in the world!”

Siegbert head swiveled around to look at him, eyes wide. Shiro realized that this might possibly be the first time either of them had actually said they loved the other, which made him redden a bit at the thought, but he had other things to think about.

“So if you’ve got a problem with me dating him, say the word and I’ll break your teeth!”

Everyone stared.

“Dude…” Soleil began. “Why would any of us have a problem with that?”

“Do you know how few of us are straight?” Rhajat asked, raising an eyebrow.

Shiro blinked. “So… you’re, what— happy for us?”

“Of course, you hard-headed dimwit!” Ophelia scoffed, punching him in the arm.

“Ow! Rude, ’Phelia,” Shiro muttered, rubbing his perfectly sculpted bicep.

“Aw, Shiro,” Caeldori began, putting a hand over her heart, “why didn’t you two just tell us? We’ve known you two have been pining after each other since day one.”

Ignatius shrugged. “Asugi told me you two were apparently madly in love, so I thought it was common knowledge you two were dating.”

Shiro was starting to regret locking Asugi in the closet a little less.

“So…” Siegbert began slowly. “None of you… care?”

“Nope!” Soleil laughed, sliding over to put her arms around her cousins. “We love you losers even if you’re dating.”

Shiro’s worries began to be alleviated one by one as their cousins and friends agreed one by one.

“Okay, but, you absolutely _cannot_ tell our parents,” Shiro stated.

“Aw…”

“Nina! That’s not funny! You can’t tell them.”

“Course not, bro,” Soleil laughed. “And if anyone does, I’ll personally destroy them, okay?”

Siegbert smiled, hugging his cousin. “Thanks, Soleil.”

There was an awkward pause before Rhajat interrupted by saying, “Well… now that that’s over with, can we return to something that’s _actually_ interesting?”

“Ugh, _fine_ ,” Nina scoffed. “I’ll turn music on or something.”

Siegbert let out a breath of relief as everyone else’s attention quickly shifted away from them. “That was… a lot easier than I thought it would be.”

“See?” Shiro took Siegbert’s hand again, leaning over to kiss him. “I told you so.”

Wiping his eyes, Siegbert chuckled. “I’m, uh… I’m sorry.”

“Pfft, don’t be.” Shiro took the sleeve of his hoodie and assisted his boyfriend in clearing his face of moisture. “I was worried too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. But don’t tell anyone, ’kay? I’ve gotta maintain an aura of manly composure.”

“Pfft,” Siegbert laughed, so jovial that Shiro couldn’t help but take in every detail of his face; eyes closed, mouth open wide in jubilee, a slight flush to his face. If he could, Shiro would take every moment of Siegbert laughing and frame it forever.

“You’re so great,” Shiro said, put his hands to either side of Siegbert’s face and squeezing his cheeks.

“Aaaaah,” Siegbert managed, “yer squooshing mah face. Stahp!”

“Heheheh, sorry.”

“Aha!” Nina, who was near the portable stereo system she’d bribed Shigure into bringing, smiled as erratic, upbeat music began to play from it. “Now _that’s_ what I’m talking about!”

Shiro smiled at Siegbert eagerly, holding out a hand. “May I have this dance?”

Siegbert put his own hand gingerly in Shiro’s. “Maybe if you can keep up.”

“Ha! You’re on, pretty boy.”

 

***

 

The night had since ended, turning into morning, and Siegbert didn’t know what time it was— only that he’d never been out this late in his life.

The party was considerable emptier now; some of the kids had already left— the next day marked the last of their winter term finals and they no doubt wanted to study. Siegbert probably would have gone with them if he weren’t having so much fun.

Now that most of the people had cleared out, Nina had put on some slow songs, and now Shiro and Siegbert held each other close, swaying slowly to the music.

“So you really _can_ dance, huh?” Shiro asked, pressing his forehead against Siegbert’s.

“Yeah. My entire family goes out ballroom dancing sometimes. You can pick other stuff up quickly if you pay attention.”

“Huh. I didn’t know that.” Shiro grinned. “I love learning new things about you. Your life’s so interesting.”

“It’s really not. I’m actually quite boring. I’m sure any time now you’ll get tired of me.”

“Not a chance, sweetheart. We’re in this for the long haul.”

Siegbert laughed softly. “That’s more reassuring than you know.”

“ _Ugh_ , you _jerks_ ,” Nina groaned, disrupting their bubble of peace. They, as well as Soleil and Mitama, who had been dancing nearby, stopped. Nina put her hands on her hips. “Well, are _any_ of you gay losers going to help me clean up?”

“Oh, sorry, Nina,” Siegbert apologized, breaking away from his boyfriend. “I’ll help right away.”

“You’d better.” She scoffed, crossing her arms. “And just _where_ is Dwyer? This is his house, you know?”

“I dunno.” Soleil paused. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen my brother or Asugi anywhere either.” She turned, frowning.

Siegbert shrugged, but behind him Shiro went, “Oh, _shit._ ”

Sighed, Siegbert turned around. “What did you _do_?”

His boyfriend ran across the basement. “I was so focused on coming out of the closet that I forgot to let those three out of it!”

He had no idea what that meant, but Siegbert couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking his head. He was so glad that he’d come out, even if he was now liable for big trouble for having served as an accessory to his friends’ illicit activities. But… he was glad Shiro had convinced him to come. He was glad everyone knew, now.

And he was certainly glad to be with someone he cared about so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So fun fact I have the entire fic finished except for the next two chapters specifically, so expect more frequent updates! :^D


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the start of the winter holiday and Shiro and Siegbert just want a god damn moment of peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... was going to have this out during the holiday season... but like... I had Christmas. And Kwanzaa. And New Years. And then school!  
> So this has actually been done for like. A month? But I ended up cutting this and the next chapter into two chapters (they were originally on really long one) so like. Please bear with me ^_^  
> Also m!Kana is Kana an fem!Kana is Kanna. Happy Trails! And a Happy Belated Holidays!! (I say three days from February)  
> EDIT: some of the dialogue got scrambled! I don't know why that happened but it's fixed now

Siegbert drummed his pencil against his desk absentmindedly. He’d finished his final exam an hour ago. He was tired and slightly cranky from being out the entire night before, and the full day of testing did not help at all.

He kept his eyes on the clock above the door, heart beating fast. He usually wasn’t a time-watcher, but he was anxious to get out of class. As soon as school was over, his entire family as well as Shiro’s were going to their aunt and uncle’s houses for a big family meal before going home for the winter break.

Finally, the last bell rang, and students sprang from their desks, free from the chains of strenuous testing. Siegbert stood quickly and picked up his bags. As much as he loved school, even _he_ was sick of it. He was ready to _go._ He bid his teacher good day and a happy summer vacation before bolting out the door.

“Holy stars, that test was _awful_ ,” Ophelia complained as she and Siegbert caught up with each other in the hall. “Did you understand question fifty-eight?”

“That was the Pythagorean theorem.”

“Curses! I forgot about that. Math, thou dost cheat me once again!”

Siegbert rolled his eyes, smirking. “I’m sure you did fine.”

“Hrrrrrrrrrrnnnnngh.”

“Don’t make that noise; you’re one of the brightest girls in that class. Otherwise you wouldn’t be in advanced math.”

Ophelia smiled sheepishly. “Well… I do try my best.” She looked up. “So, are you excited for winter break?”

“Of course. You?”

“Indubitably! I get to go home to Nohr soon.” Ophelia tapped her chin. “But all of you are meeting up here in Valla for a week or so, right?”

“Yeah. They want the whole family together.”

Ophelia grinned. “That sounds great. I should attempt to coerce my father into returning home. I want to see some of my cousins! And I’ve heard my great-uncle knows how to party. I heard he once ate an unpeeled orange.”

“Huh." Siegbert decided to erase this conversation from his mind forever. "Well, my family reunion won’t be _anything_ like that. It’ll probably just be hectic.”

“There, there.” Ophelia patted his back. “I have some gems that might be of assistance if you wish! Or some flowers. Ooh, maybe Kanna. She loves flowers!”

“Thanks, Ophelia. I don’t really need _luck_ , but I’ll take some flowers for Kanna.”

“Oh, and another thing… have you thought about what you and Shiro are going to do?”

Siegbert screwed up his lips. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I figure you still don’t want your parents to know… but you’re going to be surrounded by your friends and family for a week. How are you going to find _any_ alone time at all?”

He paused; he hadn’t thought about that.

“Well, I suppose we’ll just have to act like we’re just friends. That can’t be too hard.”

Ophelia raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything as they exited the mathematics wing.

 

In the residence hall, Siegbert didn’t have to wonder if Shiro had already gotten all set and packed.

“INCOMING!!!”

Siegbert and Ophelia yelped, dodging in opposite directions as Shiro came flyng down the stairs, hauling three suitcases under his arm and on his head and Kiragi on his back.

“In Naga’s _name_ , Shiro!” Ophelia fumed, gripping the rail of the stairs shakily. “You could have fallen and broken your neck! More importantly, you could have broken _mine_!”

“Heh, sorry, ‘Phelia!” Shiro cacked from the bottom of the stairs as Kiragi cheered.

Forrest appeared at the top of the flight, arms crossed. “You idiot.”

“I told you I could do it!”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t, I just said you couldn’t and live to tell about it.”

“Well, _I’m_ still breathing, so _one_ of us was wrong.”

Forrest rolled his eyes, smoothing down his skirt as he walked down the stairs. “He’s such a dunce sometimes. I don’t know how you can put up with him sometimes, Siegbert.”

“Honestly, sometimes I don’t know either,” Siegbert sighed as he watched his idiot boyfriend wave from the bottom of the stairwell.

“Aw, but babe,” Shiro began before being interrupted by Kiragi.

“WOOHOO! That was AWESOME!” Kiragi hugged Shiro around his neck, almost choking him in the process.

“What did you even _do_?!” Ophelia sputtered.

“Oh, yeah! Forrest bet that I couldn’t carry all three of our suitcases _and_ Kiragi down the stairs—”

“I never agreed to that wager.”

“— _But_ I totally just proved him wrong. You owe me five bucks now, dude!”

“I most certainly do _not_!”

Siegbert shook his head once more. “Sometimes I wonder how it is you’ve managed to live this long, Shiro.”

Shiro smiled, making a heart over his chest with his hands. “Your love keeps me alive, bro!”

“Did you just call your boyfriend bro?” Ophelia asked.

“Yeah, got a problem with it babe?”

“I…” Ophelia shook her head. “Must you never cease to baffle me?”

“Are you already going to the station?” Siegbert asked.

“Nope. The fam’s already here to pick us up! You gotta hurry, dude.”

“ _WHAT_?!” Siegbert yelped. “I’m not even done packing yet!”

“It’s okay, babe, I finished packing for you!” Shiro announced, smiling, clearly pleased with himself. “But I know you hate trusting people with things like that and like to double-check everything, so I left it in our room.”

Siegbert gasped. “Shiro… that’s so sweet!”

Forrest clasped his hands together. “Aw, what an adorable, loving couple! Now can we _please_ get my luggage out the door without somebody breaking their collarbone?”

“You got it, Forrest.” Shiro let Kiragi off his shoulders before picking up all three bags. “C’mon, little broski!”

“Yay!” Kiragi shouted, throwing his hands in the air as he followed Shiro out. Forrest waved at his cousin and Ophelia before going out the door.

“Neanderthal,” Ophelia breathed, standing up and smoothing down her hair. “The stress has made my hair exceedingly cowlick-y. How bothersome.”

“There, there, Ophelia.”

She sighed. “Well, I must be on my way, Siegbert. My father will be here anytime to pick me up, and I haven’t even _begun_ packing.”

“Right. I’ll see you after break. Bye, Ophelia,” he bade her, waving her off as he continued up the stairs.

Their room was freshly cleaned, almost spotless, their beds stripped of sheets and clothes packed away. Shigure’s parents lived in the city and had picked him up before, and Asugi had gone to stay with his uncle Kaze and cousin Midori, who also lived there, before returning to his father’s house in Hoshido. Siegbert’s things were the only ones left in their dorm.

His suitcase was freshly packed up, a note on it from Shiro reading _“packed with love!”_ Siegbert smiled, opening it up. His fresh-washed clothes were rolled inside underneath a bag with his toiletries (toothbrush, hair products, everything he’d had stored in their bathroom) and a blanket. His sheets were tucked under his bed, his desk organized, all awaiting his return following the winter break.

Siegbert smiled, zipping up his bag. Everything was there. He grabbed the handle and made his way out of the room, making sure to lock it on his way out.

 

“SIEGBERT! SIEGBERT!”

“Hey!” Siegbert laughed as his younger cousins swarmed his legs as he walked out to the car. “Kana. Other Kanna.”

His two youngest cousins beamed up at him, bombarding him with questions. “Siegbert! How was school?” “Did you like it?” “Were your classes hard?” “Did you go to any parties?” “Do you think I’ll like it when I’m old enough to go?”

“Hey, hey, hey, why don’t you two get off him?” Siegbert’s uncle Corrin chastised, pushing his daughter and nephew apart before standing up straight to look at Siegbert, clasping his hands together and smiling. “Sieggy! How’s my favorite nephew?”

“HEY!” Shiro, Kiragi, Kana, and Forrest called from nearby.

“I’m good, Uncle Corrin,” he chuckled as his uncle sized him up from head to toe.

“Gosh, have you gotten tall. You’re taller than me! That’s not fair.”

“PAPA!” Sophie called, running out of the building with her suitcase rolling behind her and waving before tripping and biting the dirt.

“Oof,” Corrin winced. “I guess that’s my cue to go help her.” He winked at Siegbert. “Your seat is next to Shiro’s. Go ahead and get situated so we can roll out.”

“Alright. Thanks, Uncle Corrin.” He hugged his uncle one last time before they parted, Corrin running over to his daughter and fussing over her as he helped her to her feet.

“Did you see Soph totally eat it?” Shiro whistled. “Not even thirty seconds out the door. Guess who owes me a buck?”

“Awww,” Kiragi huffed, crossing his arms.

“You shouldn’t bet on people, Shiro,” Siegbert scolded. “It’s not very nice.”

“Aw, shoot, Siegbert, you’re only saying that because you don’t know what bets we have placed on you.”

“WHAT?!”

Shiro elbowed Kiragi in the ribs. “I thought I told you to be quiet about that!”

“Wait, wait— _what_ bets?”

Forrest sighed, shrugging. “Oh, you know. Silly things, like whether or not you’ll cry when you see your parents again—”

“Shiro!”

“Hey, that was Kiragi’s bet!” Shiro informed him.

“—Or how many kisses Shiro will get from you before you go home.”

Siegbert gave his boyfriend a look, putting a hand on his hip. “Well at this rate it’s looking to be about zero.”

“Awww…”

Kiragi pulled on Forrest’s sleeve. “Hey, bro, does that mean you won the bet?”

Forrest turned red. “K-Kiragi!”

“ _Forrest!_ ” Siegbert snapped. “Why are you all like this?”

“Alright, boys,” their aunt called from her van, “let’s load up and get this show on the road.”

“Alright, Mama!” Kana called. He turned. “Siegbert! Can I help you with your suitcases?”

“Why, sure.” Siegbert handed Kana his carry on, not wanting the little guy to strain himself. Kana seemed please enough with this, as he ran to the car giggling to load it up.

“I’ll get that for you ba—” Forrest pinched Shiro, nodding towards their nearby aunt. “I mean, uh, bro!” He laughed nervously. “Yeah. Bro! Not babe.”

Forrest smacked his forehead. Siegbert wanted to point out that he called him “bro” and “dude” more than he called him “babe”, but he figured that was a conversation for another day.

Siegbert slid into his uncle’s car as Shiro loaded their suitcases into the back. Kanna slid in next to him, beaming up at him with her adorable little smile.”

“Siegbert!” she chirped. “So did you miss me?!”

“Of course I missed you, Kanna,” Siegbert said, tugging on her bun playfully. “What would I do without my adorable little cousin?”

“Heeeyyyyy, how come _you_ get to sit by Siegbert?” Shiro complained as he sat next t o Kanna, pinching her cheek. She giggled.

“Too slow!” Kanna informed him, pushing his hand away. Shiro looked to Siegbert for support.

“Guess you were just _too slow_ ,” Siegbert shrugged.

Forrest and Kiragi took the seats in front of them, Forrest fussing over his brother’s hair and clothes, saying that he had to look presentable for their parents.

“Alright!” their uncle Corrin began as he and Sophie climbed into the driver and passenger seats respectively. “Are you all ready for some good-old-fashioned holiday family fun?”

“YEAH!” the cousins all yelled collectively.

“Then let’s _roll out_!” Corrin put the van in drive. “Kanna, don’t look,” he said, waiting for his daughters to close his eyes as he drove past his sister, who was still putting the remaining cousins’ bags in her vehicle, and flipped her off. “I win again!”

“Oh, FU—"

Corrin honked, laughing. “Children aboard, Sis! Kanna, you can uncover your eyes now.”

“So, Uncle Corrin,” Forrest began, “do we have rooming arrangements?”

“Ah, Forrest. Straight to business. Just like your father,” Corrin chuckled, winking at him in the rearview mirror. “We’ve got spaces reserved for everyone, and we’re going to give them out when everyone gets to the house, so don’t worry.”

“Guys!” Kanna began, “how was school? I wanna know EVERYTHING about it!”

“Omigosh, Kanna, it was so fun!” Kiragi beamed. “It was soooo cool!”

All of the others sighed with relief as Kiragi took the brunt of Kanna’s relentless questioning. He could take it; much like her, he was young and full of energy. Freshmen…

Corrin turned on the radio to pass time and Sophie passed back snacks and Capri Suns. Siegbert took out his school books, wanting to get a head’s up on studying, and Shiro got out his Ds to play video games for the next half an hour.

However, even they could not escape Kanna’s interrogation.

"So, Siegbert,” Kanna began, “do you have a girlfriend?”

He choked on his fruit punch Capri Sun. “Do I have a _what?!”_

Shiro covered his mouth to stifle laughter from behind Kanna’s back. Siegbert glared.

“You know, like, when you like someone, and they like you back? And then you’re their boyfriend and you hold hands and cuddle and stuff? Like one of those people!”

Siegbert opened his mouth to speak, but promptly closed it. “I— no, Kanna, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Awwww.” Kanna looked down, thought for a moment, and then promptly looked back up. “Do you _like_ someone?!”

“ _Kanna!”_

Shiro started laughing, but quickly tried to cover it with a cough. Kiragi, Forrest, and Sophie weren’t so sly, unfortunately.

Kanna gasped. “You _do_! Oh, tell me, tell me, tell me! Is she smart? Is she pretty?”

Siegbert turned bright red as her big grey eyes bore into his soul. “I—”

“Oh, _yeah_ , Kanna,” Shiro interjected, “Siegbert’s got a HUGE crush on someone!”

If Siegbert could murder someone with only a single, irate look, he would have done it in that exact moment, on his boyfriend, without hesitation.

“You know who it is?!” Kanna said, whipping around to her other cousin.

“Yep! And they’re the smartest, prettiest, most attractive, most athletic, and DEFINITELY the most _awesome_ person in all of school. Anyone would be lucky to have them!”

Siegbert raised an eyebrow. “I think Shiro’s just jealous because no one would ever say that about him.”

Before Shiro could interject, Kanna said, “Yeah, you’re right. Who’d think _Shiro_ was smart or pretty?”

Siegbert leered smugly at Shiro.

“Anyone who dated Shiro would have to be a real dummy, to be honest.”

Both of them paused. Neither of them could really make fun of the other for that.

They’d both been schooled by a twelve-year-old girl.

Forrest and Kiragi, meanwhile, were laughing at the both of them.

“Kanna, leave your cousins alone,” Corrin chastised. “Neither of them is cool enough to date anyone.”

“Yeah, but Uncle Corrin, that’s exactly what everyone used to say about you,” Shiro pointed out.

“ _I was a cool kid!_ Who told you otherwise?!” Corrin yelped, his voice getting higher with each word. “Was it your uncle Takumi? I’ll kick his a— his butt!” Corrin corrected, taking a mindful glance at his youngest daughter.

“It’s okay, Uncle Corrin, lots of people aren’t cool!”

“Kiragi, I swear, I will turn this car around and none of you will get slushies when we stop at the next gas station.”

“No! What?!” Everyone started, beginning to complain in unison in a collective outcry against this slushy-less tyranny.

As Kanna began to yell to her dad that she didn’t do anything, and she thought he was _plenty_ cool, Siegbert reached over her while she was distracted to punch Shiro in the arm.

“Ow. Hey!”

“Prettiest and smartest, huh?” Siegbert teased.

“Yeah, well. _Second_ prettiest and smartest after _my_ crush.” Shiro winked as his boyfriend rolled his eyes.

“Shiro? Siegbert? Whatcha talking about?” Kanna asked.

“Nothing, Kanna,” they answered at the same time.

 

“Alright, kids,” Corrin said as he unlocked the door to his house after everyone had arrived, “your parents won’t be here until tomorrow, so you kids pretty much have the house to yourselves.”

“YAY!”

“—Chaperoned by myself and your aunt Kamui.”

“Aw…”

“But don’t worry! It’ll be just like we’re not here. You kids will have all the freedom in the world! Within reason.” Corrin shrugged. “Most of the rules from school still apply— no drinking, no drugs, no sneaking out after curfew, no PDA— but I’m sure none of you will break that last rule.”

It took a lot of will from Siegbert not to take a worrisome glance at Shiro.

“Alright, follow me!” Corrin instructed, leading his nieces and nephews into the building. Siegbert’s uncle’s home was familiar; big, warm, and welcoming. He spent a lot of childhoods here, when all of their families gathered together. Many holidays were spent in the living room gathered together and having fun, surrounded by loved ones. Siegbert could almost imagine his childhood self, curled up by the fireplace with his cousins. He smiled as the nostalgia began to wash over him. He missed this place. Everything was so familiar; the smell of the house, the carpets on the floor— Siegbert even noticed as he walked up the staircase that the dent from where Sophie tripped, fell, and hit her head on the banister was still there. You’d think that after ten years they’d do something about it, but it had a special place in the house due to the memories that were attached to it.

Sophie might not feel the same, however.

“Alright, girls,” Corrin began, opening the first door on the left, “this is your room. There are sleeping bags and areas partitioned off for each of you.”

“C’mon, guys!” Kanna giggled, taking Nina by the hands and pulling her in.

“Forrest, Kiragi, Shiro, and Sieg, your room’s here. You get the nice one. Don’t tell your cousins.”

Corrin opened the door to a guest room, which was empty save for two sets of blankets laid out on the floor in either side and a door that led to a bathroom, most likely.

“Um… Uncle Corrin,” Siegbert began as he noticed something, pulling on his uncle’s sleeve. “There are only two palettes. Who sleeps where?”

“Well, I figured since Kiragi and Forrest are brothers they could share, and since you and Shiro are such good friends you wouldn’t mind sharing either.”

Shiro and Siegbert shot glances at each other, sharing a silent conversation with only facial expressions. Mostly what was conveyed was “ _Oh my god, is this actually happening?_ ” and many, many curse words.

“Is everything alright, boys?”

“Uhh…”

“Actually, Uncle Corrin, I’d rather _not_ share a bed with Forrest,” Kiragi said. “He’s always getting his hair in my mouth. And he kicks.”

“Is that so?” Corrin shrugged. “Well, I guess you boys can work it out, then.”

The boyfriends let out sighs of relief when Corrin turned, while Forrest swatted his brother’s arm behind their uncle’s back, mouthing, “I _DO NOT_ KICK!”

“Well, I’ll leave you all to it. Don’t get into too much trouble, now,” Corrin joked. He tousled Siegbert’s hair, saying, “keep them in line, Sieggy” before walking off to show the remaining relatives to their spaces.

The boys rolled their suitcases in and shut the door behind them.

Forrest and Kiragi started laughing, clutching their stomachs. “Oh my gods, you should have seen your faces,” Forrest giggled, wiping his eyes.

“You looked like such dummies!” Kiragi agreed.

“Thanks,” Siegbert sighed, rolling his eyes.

“You looked like fish with your mouths hanging open like that.” Forrest laughed and shook his head. “Are you two _really_ that against sharing a bed with each other? You two are so innocent and cute.”

Siegbert blushed as his relatives mocked them, not looking at any of the others as he unzipped his suitcase. Dinner would be soon. He wouldn’t have to worry about _any_ of this while everyone was bonding over a delicious meal.

Hopefully.

 

***

 

“ _Man_ ,” Shiro sighed, throwing his body down on the couch in his uncle’s living room, “Uncle Silas _really_ knows how to cook a chicken.”

His boyfriend chuckled, calmly taking a seat next to him. “Is it always chicken with you?”

“No. Sometimes I talk about how much I love sports.”

Siegbert shook his head. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

“Not as ridiculous as you. I mean, you’re the one who decided that it would be a good idea to— well. You know.” Shiro glanced around, then whispered, “ _date me._ ”

“You don’t have to whisper. Everyone’s gone upstairs to bed.”

“Oh, yeah!” Shiro perked up, smiling. “You know, I’m surprised you pointed that out, Sieg.”

“Why? I enjoy spending some quality time with you. I mean, when we go home for break we’re not going to see each other again until January.”

“Hmm, yeah.” Shiro put a hand to his boyfriend’s soft, round face. “I’m going to miss looking at your beautiful face every day.”

“And I’m going to miss… having to constantly yell at you to do your homework every day.”

“Wow, geez, Siegbert, right when we’re having a moment.”

“Maybe we’d still be having a moment if you could just remember to finish your history assignments, _Shiro_."

“See? That’s another thing I’m gonna miss.”

“Getting yelled at?”

“What? No. My dad does that enough. Nah, I’m talking about _you_.” Shiro glanced away with a nervous smile on his face, turning a bit pink. “I mean, you’ve more than anyone helped me get it together. Because of you, my grades have gone up, I’m more motivated, and… honestly? I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time. You’re like, the greatest thing to ever happen to me, dude. Er… babe.” He beamed back up at his boyfriend. “I just wanted you to know that.”

“Aw, Shiro. I wish I had a speech like that.” Siegbert paused, thinking for a moment. “Hmm. Well, you’ve done a lot for me, too. Frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun as when I’m with you. I feel like I can relax around you. Like I can let all my walls down. I know I can be… well… a stick in the mud. And that’s honestly because I don’t feel like I can most of the time, because I have so many expectations. I think you help me make time for myself, to unwind and relax and just be… me. You don’t care if I’m ‘Siegbert, Xander’s Son’ or ‘Siegbert the Honors Student’ or any of that stuff. You just… love me for being Siegbert.”

“You don’t have to be anyone else.” Shiro brushed blonde curls away from Siegbert’s face. “You’re wonderful just the way you are.” He leaned in, but Siegbert put a hand to his chest.

“We should probably get upstairs before Kamui and Corrin come looking for us,” Siegbert stated candidly. “We’ve been downstairs alone long enough.”

“I… yeah, you’re right.”

They paused awkwardly in silence for a moment or two.

“So, uh… you’re sharing a bed with Forrest, huh?”

“Yeah, it sucks though. He kicks.”

Shiro laughed. “Well, guess we’d better get to it, then.

The two boys stood, pretending as if nothing had happened between them at all as they walked upstairs.

 

“Hey, Shiro.”

Shiro groaned. “What, Kiragi?”

“Are you awake?”

“Nope.”

“Liar, you just spoke.”

Shiro opened his eyes, smirking. “Nothing gets past you, huh?”

His little cousin giggled. “Knew it.”

“What’s up little bro?”

Kiragi pursed his lips. “Well… what’s going on with you and Siegbert?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… Forrest told me all about how you two are boyfriends or something. But we can’t tell our families. But I thought that a boyfriend or girlfriend was supposed to be someone who made you happy. Why wouldn’t you want your family to know that you’ve found someone who makes you happy?”

Shiro licked his lips as Kiragi watched him with big, expectant eyes. “Well, uh… that’s a loaded question, Kiragi.”

Kiragi seemed nonplussed by this striking revelation.

“Well… I guess it’s just kinda scary, you know? I don’t know if my dad will like the fact that I’m bi and dating a guy. And on one hand, he might accept it, but on the other, he might not. After the whole… thing with my mom, we haven’t had a very good relationship, and on the off-chance that he doesn’t… I don’t want to risk making things worse with him.”

“Hmmm.” Kiragi frowned. “I guess that makes sense. So it’s kind of like why Forrest didn’t want to tell our dads he wears dresses and stuff?”

“Yeah. Like that.”

“Ohhh.” Kiragi frowned. “I’d hate for that to happen to you, Shiro. No one deserves to be scared of their parents not liking who they are.”

“I know. I hope you never have to go through that.” Shiro smiled, flicking Kiragi’s nose. “But lucking you’re still just a little baby freshie.”

“Hey! I’m almost half your height now, so you better watch out!”

“Heheheheh.” Shiro tousled Kiragi’s hair. “Don’t grow up too fast, okay, kiddo?”

“I won’t.”

“Good. I don’t know what I’d do without my little baby cousin.”

“I may not always be little, but I’ll always be your cousin.”

Shiro laughed. “I couldn’t ask for anything better. Now get some sleep; we have a long day tomorrow.”

 

***

 

Siegbert yawned, sitting up as he awoke. He glanced at the alarm clock; it was six-thirty in the morning. Too early. But now that he was awake, he probably wouldn’t sleep again until that night.

Forrest was gone from the place where he’d rested the night before (thank the gods; Siegbert had woken up every half an hour, either kicked in the stomach or with a mouthful of hair). On the other palette laid Shiro and Kiragi, curled up together like two peas in a pod. Siegbert smiled. They were sleeping peacefully, albeit snoring louder than a train crashing into a busy shopping mall. Eventually, however, Kiragi rolled over, taking all of the blankets with him. Shiro stirred in his sleep, opening his eyes. “Huh… wha?”

“Shh.” Siegbert picked up his blankets and brought them over, draping them over Shiro. “Take mine instead.”

Shiro blinked groggily. “Did Kiragi steal th’ blankets again?” he managed, speech slurred by tiredness.

“Yeah. But I brought you mine.”

Shiro closed his eyes, smiling. “Aww… thanks, babe…”

“Anytime. Just go back to sleep.” Siegbert leaned down and kissed his boyfriend, who laced a hand in his hair weakly until it slowly returned to the ground as he returned to his slumber.

Siegbert made his way to the adjacent bathroom, where he found Forrest.

“Hey,” his cousin said as he curled his hair, looking in the mirror. “Careful there, this iron’s hot.”

“Noted.” Siegbert reached over Forrest carefully to grab his toothbrush.

“Soooooo,” Forrest began, letting his newly-curled strong of hair fall and bounce over his shoulder before moving onto the next one. “How do you think you did on your finals?”

Siegbert only managed a series of mumbles hindered by the fact that there was a toothbrush and copious amounts of foam in his mouth.

“Oh. Right.”

Siegbert took his brush out of his mouth. “How ’bow you?”

“I think I did alright. But even if I didn’t, that’d be okay.” Forrest giggled. “I had fun this first semester.”

“M’ too.” Siegbert leaned over and spit into the sink.

“Ewwww.” Forrest made a disdainful face. “You could have at least asked me to move out of the _way_ first.”

“Oh, hush,” Siegbert said as he wiped his mouth off with a towel, “I didn’t spit on you, did I?”

“So what are your plans for when you get back to Nohr?” Forrest asked as he finished his final curl, reaching for the hair ties that were in his makeup bag. “Also, do you want to help me do my hair.”

“Sure.” Siegbert said, stepping behind Forrest and pulling his curls behind his head. “And, I don’t know; I guess I’ll spend quality time at home with my parents. It’s been so long since we’ve all been together in one place, and they’re both taking the holidays off to spend with me.”

“That’s sweet. Father has to work for most of the holiday, but we’re planning on spending the _actual_ holiday together. We’ll go play in the snow in Nohr. We’ve been in Valla for so long. I miss snow. And then I think they might take us to one of the big events in the big Vallite capital.”

“That sounds cool.”

“I know! I’m so excited. I love spending time with my family.” Forrest exhaled through his nose. “It’s too bad we don’t get to see each other as often anymore, what with being at the academy now.”

“It’s alright, Forrest. At least we all get to spend time together now.”  Siegbert straightened the ponytail he’d just put his cousin’s hair in, tugging on it to make sure it was firmly secured. “There. How’s that?”

“Gorgeous. You’re the best,” Forrest answered, throwing his arm around Siegbert in a hug.

“Aw, thanks, Forrest.”

“Well, c’mon, let’s get dressed. I think Uncle Corrin’s making waffles.”

“You go on ahead; I think I’m going to take a shower.”

“Alright. I’ll see you in a bit,” Forrest said, patting Siegbert on the shoulder before exiting the bathroom.

 

“Heeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyy, babe!”

Siegbert smiled as he dried off his hair with a towel. His boyfriend was lounging on the palette he’d slept on the night before, posing as if he wanted Siegbert to draw him like one of his Rosanne girls. “Shiro, you haven’t gone downstairs yet?”

“Nope.” Shiro beamed proudly. “I wanted to wait for you.”

“Aw, thanks, but you didn’t have to do that, sweetheart,” Siegbert said as he approached where Shiro was sitting.

“Nah. Why would I need to eat breakfast when I could be spending time with you? I mean, Kiragi and Forrest just went downstairs for breakfast. No one else is around.”

“Hmmm, that’s true.” Siegbert sat down on the blankets next to him. “So what did you have in mind?”

“Hm, well…” Shiro began, a devious smile on his face as he reached for Siegbert, “I was thinking of something like this.”

Shiro grabbed his shoulders, leaning in and pressing their mouths together, parting Siegbert’s lips as they fell onto the ground together. Siegbert felt Shiro’s full weight on top of him as he kissed him repeatedly, intertwined together on the ground. He felt grateful that their entire family as downstairs as Siegbert’s hands found themselves under Shiro’s shirt, feeling his defined abdominal muscles that were located there.

“Mmmm…”

“Getting frisky there, Siegbert?” Shiro chuckled against his boyfriend’s lips, taking off his own shirt.

“Shut up,” Siegbert laughed, pulling Shiro’s head back down to kiss him again. Shiro’s lips traced down Siegbert’s neck with tender kisses and love bites, making Siegbert laugh despite himself.

“Shiro, Siegbert! Waffles are done. Are you gonna— whoa.”

The two of them jolted, looking up. Their two youngest cousins were standing in the door, staring at them quizzically.

“Ummm…” Kana frowned. “What are you two doing?”

“Uhhh—”

“We’re playing Twister?”

“What? Then why is Shiro shirtless?”

“Um, I was, uh…” Siegbert started, turning bright red. “…Giving him CPR?”

“But you’re underneath him,” Kanna pointed out, frowning. “And your hands are behind his head, not on his chest.”

“It’s reverse CPR?” Shiro said.

“Wait, are you guys _kissing?_ ”

“Um—”

“Kana, Kanna, what are you—” Forrest began until he reached the bedroom doorway. “I… oh. Oh dear.”

“Forrest, Shiro and Siegbert are kissing,” Kana informed him.

“No, it’s _reverse CPR!_ ”

Forrest sighed. “Yes, I know they’re kissing. Guys, Shiro and Siegbert are dating.”

“They are?!” their younger cousins gasped.

“Yes, but you can’t tell anyone. Okay?”

“So it’s like a secret?” Kana asked.

“Yes. And you can only tell your siblings and other cousins. Not your parents or aunts or uncles. Okay?”

“Alright! I’m good at keeping secrets,” Kana beamed.

“Nuh-uh! I’m better.”

“Ha! As _if_.”

“Well, I’m going to get waffles. C’mon, Kanna.” Kana waved at Shiro and Siegbert. “Bye, Shiro. Bye, Siegbert. Have fun playing Twister.”

The two of them watched as the youngest kids raced back through the halls. Forrest crossed his arms and shook his head condescendingly at them. “Five minutes alone and you two can’t keep your hands off each other?”

“Um…”

“Oh, save it. Shiro, put a shirt on. Do you two need chaperones?”

The two boys stood, embarrassed. Siegbert smoothed down his clothes and re-buttoned his collar, fixing his hair, while Shiro retrieved his shirt and headband.

“Gods. This is going to be a long few weeks for you two lovebirds.” Forrest shook his head once more. “You two hooligans need to come downstairs and eat something aside from each other’s faces. If you’re not downstairs in five minutes I’ll send Nina up here after you, and neither of you wants that.” Forrest huffed, turning and walking away, his curls bobbing behind his head.

“So, uh…” Shiro coughed self-consciously. “That was, uh. Embarrassing.”

“Yeah,” Siegbert agreed, his face completely red in mortification.

“So… the kids know now.”

“Yep.”

“You wanna…”

“Nope.” Siegbert cleared his throat, looking away. “I think we should just, uh… go downstairs now.”

“Y-Yeah,” Shiro agreed as Siegbert walked out of the room. “So, like, uh, let’s go eat some… waffles.”

“That sounds like a plan.”

 

“Mother! Father!”

“Oh, Siegbert!” Charlotte squealed, throwing her arms around her son and picking him up. Planting kisses all over his face. “Oh, I missed you! Look at you!”

“Ack— Mother— my cousins are watching—”

“Charlotte, let the boy down so he can give his father a hug too.”

Siegbert’s mother let him to his feet, if only to allow him to run into his father’s arms.

“Ah, Siegbert,” Xander chuckled, “how’s life been treating you, my boy?”

“Terribly, but we’ll get to that another time.”

Xander guffawed, clapping his son on the back. “That’s my boy. Oh, I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you, too, Father.”

“Hey!”

“ _And_ you, Mother.” Siegbert wrapped his arms around both of his parents. “I love you two so much.”

“Aw, Xander, I think he’s been homesick.”

“Of course I have. With parents like you, who wouldn’t be?”

“Awwww, I missed you, little guy,” Charlotte said, tousling her son’s hair.

“Alright, alright, let’s get out of the entryway,” Corrin said, pushing the happy family in the door. “Other families want to have sappy reunions, okay?”

“Alright, alright.” Xander turned to his family. “Let’s go to the living room, shall we?”

Siegbert followed his parents to the living room while the others reunited with their families. Soleil and Shigure had arrived with their parents, and Soleil was showing Kanna how buff she’d gotten by bench-pressing her while Shigure “mediated” (translation: attempted to stop her). Nina was avoiding her dad at all costs. Takumi was giving Kiragi a piggyback ride while his son recounted his time at school, while Forrest was giving Siegbert’s uncle Leo a stern lecture about wearing clothes inside out.

Xander, Charlotte, and Siegbert sat down on the couch in the living room, which was, surprisingly, the least hectic of the rooms.

“So, how were finals, son?”

“Long and awful. I hated them. They were so stressful.”

“Oh, baby, you worry too much! I’m sure you passed all of them with flying colors.”

Siegbert chortled nervously. “Thanks, Mother, but I’m not sure. At any rate, I’ll find out in January.”

“That’s the spirit.” Charlotte smiled, putting a hand to his face. “Oh, look at you. You’re growing up so fast before our eyes.”

Siegbert blushed. “Moth- _er_.”

“It’s true, though! Isn’t it, Xander?”

Xander nodded in agreement. “Why, I remember when you were just a little tyke running around in diapers. It doesn’t seem that long ago, now.”

“Dad, I’m sixteen. That was fourteen years ago.”

“Oh, time flies when you’re a parent. Maybe you’ll understand one day, if you settle down with someone and have kids.”

Siegbert clenched his teeth nervously.

“Oh, what’s that face for, Sieggy?” Charlotte asked.

“Uhh. Nothing.”

Charlotte shrugged. “Whatever. I’m going to go ask Corrin if he’s got anything to drink around here. Be back in a jiffy, boys.”

Siegbert watched his mother go. He was glad to be back with his parents. He could hardly wait to go home again.

“So, I was curious about your— hm? Sieg, what’s that on your neck?”

Siegbert looked up. “My n—?” His eyes widened, hands flying to his neck to cover it. “Er, nothing, father!”

Xander’s brow furrowed. “Are you sure? They looked like marks.”

He silently cursed. “Oh, they’re just— uh— bruises. Yes. Bruises.”

His father’s eyes widened. “Bruises?”

“Wait, I—”

“Son, did you get into a fight?!”

“What? No!”

“Oh, gods. Did someone beat you up at school? Tell me who did it!”

“Father please—”

“CHARLOTTE! GET IN HERE! SOMEONE TRIED TO BEAT UP OUR SON.”

“Oh gods no—”

“WHAT.” Charlotte’s screech resounded through the house. Siegbert’s eyes flew to the ceiling. “WHO DID IT? I’LL KILL THEM!”

Siegbert closed his eyes, groaning. He silently vowed to murder Shiro the next time he saw him.

 

***

 

“Hey, loser.”

“AUGH!” Shiro screamed, nearly falling out of the tree he was climbing. Looking up, he saw Nina sitting there in a higher branch, headphones in her ears.

“Are you avoiding your dad, too?” She asked.

“Uh. Well. I don’t know if he’s here yet.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“But, yeah. I figure he’ll have time to yell at me when we home, so why give him more time now?”

Nina scoffed. “Ugh, I feel you.” She took out one headphone and extended it to him. “I found a bootleg of a popular musical on YouTube. Wanna watch?”

“Ah, sweet! I live for that stuff.” Shiro started to climb the tree a little faster, taking a seat on the branch next to Nina and putting her headphone in his ear.

“Do you remember when we used to climb this tree when we were little?” Nina asked.

Shiro looked up, despite trying to watch the musical. “Oh yeah. Didn’t you fall out of it once?”

“You pushed me.”

“Pssht, you weren’t hurt.”

“I broke my _arm_!”

“You survived, didn’t you?”

Nina glared at him. “Maybe now’s the perfect time for revenge.”

“Please, no! I have a family!”

“Unless Siegbert’s pregnant— which is unlikely, partially because you two are too wimpy to not be virgins— I highly doubt that. Although Forrest tells me you got close.” She shook her head. “Dumbasses.”

“We were not! There was nothing like that going on!”

“Uh-huh. Sure.” Nina sighed. “Wild change of subject, but you know, I miss the days when we were kids.”

“How so?”

“Well, things were a lot simpler then. There were no societal expectations. No secret relationships. No realizing how shitty our dads actually were, because we all just looked through the world with the rose-colored lenses of youth.”

“Hm. Been working on your prose?”

“I take a creative writing class. It’s lit.”

Shiro chuckled. “Oh, Neeners, you never cease to amuse me.”

“Don’t _ever_ call me that again.”

“Whatever you say, Neeners.”

She punched him in the arm, which didn’t hurt.

Falling out of the tree did.

Hitting two branches on the way down did too.

“Owwww ow owww!” Shiro moaned. “My spleen…”

“Oh, please. You’re fine. It’s not like I, you know. _Broke your arm._ ”

“We were six, Nina! _Six!_ Get over it!”

She shook her head, braids bobbing around her face. “You’re _fine_. None of your bones are sticking out of your body or anything.”

Shiro sat up, rubbing his back. “You still could’ve actually _checked._ ”

“Whatever.” Nina sighed. “We have so many good childhood memories here, and now things are so complicated.”

“…Yeah.” Shiro laid back on the ground with his hands behind his head, sighing as he watched the sky. “Way back when, me and Siegbert used to play with each other all the time. We used to arm wrestle a lot. I only lost once.” Shiro smirked. “I let him win.”

“Sure you did.”

“Shut up.” He shrugged. “You know, back then… I never thought about dating _any_ guys, let alone Sieg.”

“Things change.”

“I know. I guess it’s funny… I think I always kind of had a crush on Siegbert, I just never thought about it.”

“Awww. Gay.”

“I mean, looking back— I always wanted to spend time with him and make him happy and behave around him so that he’d like me and never be disappointed in me. I still do, now; even _more_ now.”

“Aww, was Siegbert widdew baby Shiwo’s first _crush?”_ Nina gushed.

“No. Shut up. Stop whatever you’re doing right now.”

“Oh, don’t worry. Siegbert’s my cousin! I’ll try not to be _too_ weird about it.” She shrugged, then pocketed her phone and headphones and let herself fall off the tree. Unlike Shiro, however, she was actually graceful, and landed on her feet. “Well, we can still avoid our dads for a few more hours. Wanna try avoiding them in the basement? I think Uncle Corrin’s freezer has popsicles.”

“Ooooh, I hope he has the blue ones.”

“Hell yeah! The blue ones are fucking lit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the show folks because making out on the floor is about as spicy as this gets


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro and Siegbert spend time with their respective families over the holidays

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm this chapter isn't really meant for anything other than establishing their relationships with their families and egregious cameos. Tbh I just wanted to write something cute haha  
> Also! Chapter 9 should also be uploaded! If there's no "Next Chapter" button, just refresh.  
> (Also I hc Valla as being rather warm climate-wise, considering that it's somewhat Indian-coded with its clothing and architecture. That'll come up a bit)

“Siegbert!” Shiro shouted through a mouthful of popsicle as his boyfriend stomped down the basement stairs.

“Shiro, I’m going to murder you.”

“Why are you wearing a scarf? I know it’s December but its, like, sixty something degrees outside.”

“You know full well _why_.”

Shiro frowned, glancing at Nina, who was sitting on the deep freezer eating her popsicle and shrugging. “Uh… no? That’s why I asked.”

Siegbert adjusted his scarf, blushing. “It’s because my _father_ keeps asking where I got those mysterious ‘bruises’ on my neck.”

“And with that I’m leaving, bye.” Nina hopped off and run upstairs, shutting the door behind her.

“Bruises?” Shiro’s eyes widened. “Did someone try to beat you up?! Who?! I’ll kill any bastard who lays his hands on you—!”

“Shiro, they’re _not bruises._ ”

“They’re not?” He paused for a moment, thinking. “But that means— _ohhhh_.”

“Yeah.”

Shiro chuckled. “Oh man, that’s hilarious.”

“It is _not!_ My parents are trying to figure out who tried to fight me!” Siegbert yelped. “I can’t believe you _actually left marks on my neck._ What the heck?!”

“I mean, I didn’t _mean_ to. And you seemed to enjoy it, if I recall.”

“That’s besides the point.” Siegbert sighed. “Look, if we’re going to keep this a secret, we have to be better about these kinds of things, okay? I don’t know how to explain to my dad that I have these ‘bruises’ on my neck without. You know. Revealing our entire relationship to him.”

“I mean… you could’ve just told your dad that Forrest accidentally hit you in the neck while he was asleep.”

Siegbert paused. “Do you think he’d buy that?”

“I dunno. It’s worth a shot though.”

Shaking his head and sighing, Siegbert crossed his arms. “Is it going to be like this the whole time?”

Shiro shrugged. “I don’t know. But we’ll just have to see. Every relationship has its hardships, and this is just ours.”

“I guess. But it’s only been a day and I’m already sick of it."

“Well, we’ll just have to power through it. Besides, if you’re by my side, I can do anything. Even hide the fact that I love you more than anyone in the world.”

Siegbert blushed. “Stop saying things like that. Someone will hear you.”

“No one else is—”

“That is exactly what we thought last time, and look where _that_ got us.”

“Er… that’s fair.” Shiro laughed. “But as long as we’re here, I—”

“SHIRO!”

“ _WHAT?!”_ he shouted in reply, whipping his head around to face the stairs that led to the upper level. That was his uncle Takumi’s voice.

“COME HERE!”

“ _WHY?”_

“BECAUSE I SAID SO.”

“Uuuuuugggghhhhhhh,” he groaned, rubbing his hand down his face in frustration. “I hate it when he does that.”

“I wouldn’t know. When my mom calls, I go.”

“To be honest she’d probably kill you if you didn’t, but that’s beside the point.” Shiro leaned over and placed a quick peck on Siegbert’s cheek. “I’ll find you later, okay?”

“Alright. My family’s gathering for dinner anyways. I’ll see you later, Shiro.”

“Bye-a, Sieg,” Shiro called as he ran upstairs.

“There you are. Where have you been?” Takumi asked as his nephew approached him.

“Oh, you know. Places.”

“You were avoiding your father, weren’t you?”

Shiro snapped his fingers at his uncle. “You know it.”

Takumi rolled his eyes. “Why are you like this? Actually, don’t answer that. I know you’ll just say something obnoxious.”

“Wow, Uncle Takumi, love you too.”

“Shut up. It’s time to spend time with your family. Your aunts Hinoka and Sakura just got here, and we’re about to eat cake with your cousins in Valla.”

Shiro winced. “Oh, man. I forgot about that.”

“Well maybe if you weren’t fooling around with your little friends you’d have remembered that we do this _every_ year?” Takumi sighed, crossing his arms and shaking his head. “What’s gotten into you? You’ve been acting weird since we got here.”

“Uh… well, I… I’m just…”

Takumi narrowed his eyes.

“…Worried about finals! That’s it.”

“Honestly, with grades like yours I’d be worried too.”

Shiro wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that.

“Come on. Your father’s waiting, and he’ll be mad if you don’t show up.”

He sighed. “Ugh, _fine_. I’m coming. Don’t get your ponytail in a twist.”

 

***

 

“So, Siegbert, how do you think you did on your finals?”

“Fine,” he answered for about the millionth time that day.

His aunt Camilla smiled and cooed, pinching his cheek. “Aw, is my precious little nephew getting tired? I know how stressful these big family gatherings can be for you.”

Siegbert was gathered around the table with his aunts and uncles eating and talking. He was seated between his aunts Elise and Camilla, who were asking him endless questions about his time in school. All the adults were chatting and drinking wine while the kids sat awkwardly, being interrogated and drinking grape juice in champagne glasses. Siegbert had spent most of the meal pushing food around his plate instead of eating it and avoiding conversation and general eye contact.

“Leave him alone, Cam,” Elise laughed, patting his shoulder. “I’m sure he’s tired.”

“Oh, but of course. The poor dear.”

“Pwease stahp touching mah fash.”

Camilla laughed deeply as she released her nephew’s face from her cheek-pinching clutches. “I’m sorry, Sieggy, it’s a force of habit. I keep forgetting that you’re becoming a man now!”

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean?!” Siegbert squeaked, blushing. What did they know?!

“I mean that you’re a junior in high school. By the end of next year, you’ll be an adult!” Camilla sighed dramatically. “I remember when you were just a little baby. My, how the time flies.”

“O… Oh.” He turned red, looking back down at his food.

“Why? Did you think I meant something else?”

“N-No.”

“Omigosh, he TOTALLY did!” Elise shouted, slamming her hands on the table. “Siegbert, do you have a _girlfriend?”_

He was lucky he didn’t have a Capri Sun to choke on that time.

“No, he doesn’t,” Nina assured them from where she sat next to her mother, pushing peas around her plate. Siegbert cast her a thankful glance.

One that she took for granted by saying, “Trust me, he’s virgin supreme. If anyone’s getting any, it’s not him.”

“ _Nina_ !” Xander chastised, turning red at the mention of his son’s sex life, though both of Nina’s parents were laughing along with her, because of _course_ they were.

“Sorry, Uncle Xander, but your son’s not exactly the hunkiest bachelor in school,” she said, shrugging.

“Nina, I swear to gods, don’t make me come over there,” Siegbert warned.

“Siegbert, don’t threaten your cousin.”

“ _Dad!”_ Siegbert complained as Nina stuck her tongue out at him.

“Your father’s right, Sieggy,” Charlotte agreed, rotating her wine glass in her hand. (She liked to do that. It made her feel fancy.) “Don’t make threats you can’t cash in. That makes them worthless.”

“…Charlotte, that’s not what I meant at all.”

“Oh. It’s not?” She shrugged and took a sip of wine. “Whatever. Listen to your old man.”

“ _Mom!”_

“I’m going to go get some more wine,” Camilla said, standing from the table. “You two behave until I get back. Nina, try not to bully your cousin too much. And, Sieggy, eat your food! You’ll waste away like that.”

Camilla walked away, leaving the space between the two cousins empty, Nina whispered into her cup so only they could hear, mumbling, “I bet if this ham were Shiro’s ass you’d eat it.”

“NINA—”

“That’s it; Siegbert, Nina, go sit at the kid’s table with your younger cousins!”

“What?!”

“But Father—"

“But Uncle Xander—"

“If you two can’t stop fighting like children, you might as well sit with them.”

“But I didn’t even _do_ anything!” Siegbert argued.

“Forrest gets to stay, and he’s younger than both of us!”

“ _Forrest_ behaves.”

Their cousin lifted his champagne glass full of grape juice, giving them a smug, shit-eating grin.

Siegbert and Nina both glared as they were ushered out of the Nohrian adults’ eating space.

“I worked hard for sixteen years to sit at that table and now I have the privilege stripped away? This is tyranny,” Nina scoffed as they entered the room where the kids’ table was located.

“I know. We should rebel.”

“Pfffft, as if. You have the gumption of a lemming. You’d never survive through a coup.”

“Hey—! Well, actually, that’s fair.”

 

***

 

“Shiro.”

Shiro put his hands in the pockets of his shorts at the sound of his own name. “Ryoma.”

His father shook his head, crossing his arms. “Son. Show some more tact. It’s the holiday season, after all.”

He forced a smile. “Heya, Dad! Good to see ya! Oh, wait. I can’t say that. I’m not a _liar_.”

Ryoma sighed. “I should have guessed you’d be this way. I mean, why try to behave? It’s not as if you’re at a family event.”

“Hmph.” Shiro crossed his arms, glaring at the floor as he and his father sat at the big table with the rest of his aunts and uncles and cousins. Everyone was chatting and catching up with each other, talking about their jobs and their kids and their schooling and life and other stuff. Shiro and his father, however, sat side-by-side, speaking few words to each other, and when they did, they weren’t exactly the happy-feely words of the holiday season.

“So, son, how have the studies gone?”

Shiro groaned. “I don’t know, Dad, I don’t get my second semester grades for a few weeks.”

“Shiro.”

“They’re fine, I guess.” He pushed bits of food around his plate with his fork. “Sieg helps me a lot.”

“You shouldn’t have to rely on him.”

“Gods, I don’t _rely_ on him! He’s just, I dunno, _helpful._ ” He shoved a forkful of chicken into his mouth.

“Just helpful? You seem to spend a lot of time with him.”

Shiro nearly choked.

“Take smaller bites, son.”

After clearing his throat, Shiro said, “He’s my _friend_. Friends spend time together.”

Ryoma clicked his tongue. “I’m well aware. Believe it or not, I have friends.”

“Coworkers and siblings don’t count as friends, Dad.”

“Do you want to have a winter break free of groundings or not?”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get your hair in a twist.”

“Besides, it’s not his status as your friend that I’m worried about; it’s that you’re spending too much time worrying about your friends and not your studies.”

“Oh, so now I’m just supposed to be friendless?”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“Dad, could you just lay off a bit? I know you haven’t seen me in forever, but this can all wait until we get home.”

“We’re going to be busy. As soon as we get home, we’re going to visit your mother.”

Shiro gripped his fork tighter. “Right.”

His aunt Sakura, who was sitting nearby, seemed to notice the tense air between the two. Before either of them could say anything else, she clapped her hands together. “Wh-who wants cake?” she said loudly enough for all of them to hear. Their family cheered as she got up to retrieve it.

“So, Shiro,” his uncle Takumi began, “how have the studies gone?”

“Oh, great! Siegbert helps me out with a lot of stuff,” Shiro answered. His father scoffed next to him, covering his face.

“That’s great. Sieg’s a sweetheart. And how are your history grades?”

“Eh, they’re fine.”

“Just ‘fine’? Heh, when I was your age I—”

“Had the best history grade, got top of your class, yada yada? Trust me, I’ve heard it all before.”

“Heh heh. Your uncle Takumi can get a little big-headed, huh?” Shiro’s aunt Kamui laughed, tousling her little brother’s long grey hair.

“Kamui! Cut it out!” he barked, pulling on hers in retaliation.

“Both of you, stop fighting at the table!” Ryoma snapped. His younger siblings whipped around. “You’re both fully grown adults, setting examples for your nieces, nephews, and children. Don’t you have more tact than this?”

Kamui and Takumi glanced at each other.

“No,” Takumi answered.

“Not really,” Kamui agreed as she punched him in the arm.

“Ugh,” Ryoma groaned as he put his head in his hands. His last sister, Hinoka, patted his back sympathetically.

However, any remaining bad moods were dissolved by the arrival of the cake. Sweet, moist, decadent sponge cake topped with whipped cream (his aunt Sakura poured a mountain of whipped cream on Shiro’s, gods bless her) was passed around to the family, effectively improving the entire overall mood.

There had been a lot of awkward conversation, but now the family was actually laughing and having fun together— something that hadn’t happened in what seemed like forever. Shiro was actually having fun.

Someone, however, wasn’t.

“Kana, honey,” Kamui asked, putting a hand on her son’s shoulder, “what’s wrong? You’re just pushing your food around your plate. I thought you loved cake!”

“Is something on your mind, little man?” Hinoka asked her youngest nephew.

Kana frowned as he mumbled, “They weren’t playing Twister…”

“What?”

“I have to go,” Shiro announced loudly as he suddenly stood up.

“What? But we just started eating,” Kamui stated.

“Yeah, but I think Kana’s bummed out. I mean, he’s eating at the adults’ table! That’s gotta be boring as heck! I might as well take him back there.”

Kamui seemed puzzled. “I... suppose?”

“Yep. Right. C’mon, Kana.”

“But--”

 _“C’MON, Kana!”_ Shiro whisper-screamed through his teeth, walking around the table to grab his little cousin’s arm and pull him out.

“Hey!” Kana scoffed, holding his plate of cake and fork in one hand.

“Little dude, what did we _say?”_ Shiro sighed as they were finally out of earshot.

“Uh…” his messy-haired cousin thought for a moment. “‘Reverse CPR’?”

“No!”

“Oh, right. The thing about not talking about the fact that you and Siegbert are boyfriends!”

“Yeah, th--”

“And that you like to kiss a whole lot when nobody’s around!”

“How is that detail at all relevant, Kana?”

Kana answer with only a shrug. Shiro scoffed. “C’mon, let’s go sit at the kids’ table. Like we’re freakin’ five.”

“No!! That’s where the Nohrian kids sit!”

“Dude, half your family is Nohrian.”

“So is yours!! You’re literally half-Nohrian!”

“...Touché, little dude.”

The two of them walked into the little room where the kids’ table sat. Generally, the Nohrians put their children here due to drinking lots of alcohol and the Hoshidans kept their kids with them, but Shiro had been banished here many a time as child. He and Nina were regular delinquent residents of the kids’ table.

Siegbert, however, was not.

Which was why it was a surprise to see Siegbert himself there.

“Oh, look,” Nina, who was sitting next to Shiro’s boyfriend, said. “These two yokels got themselves banished too.”

The table was sparse this year, since many of them were deemed at least old enough to sit with their parents. Shigure and Soleil sat together next to Kanna, with Kiragi next to her (the two sat together every year).

“What are you guys doing here?” Shiro asked.

“Kanna was too young to sit at the Nohrian table, and she and Kiragi are ride-or-die buddies,” Soleil explained.

“Our parents are embarrassing,” Shigure supplied on behalf of both him and his sister.

“Siegbert’s a little bitch,” Nina said.

_“Hey!”_

“Don’t call my boyfriend a bitch!”

“ _Thank_ you—”

“Only _I_ get to call my boyfriend a bitch.”

Siegbert narrowed his eyes. “I hate all of you.”

“Nah, you love me, dude,” Shiro said as he took his seat next to Siegbert, kissing him on the cheek.

“Aww, how disgustingly cute,” Nina said.

“So my little Sieggy’s a delinquent, huh?”

“As _if._ Tell him what you _really_ did, Nina.”

“I may or may not have alluded to sexual acts between you and our dear Siegbert here in reference to our holiday ham.”

Siegbert covered his face with his hands as Shiro’s eyes widened.

“Acts like what?” he asked.

“Shiro, if you engage this behavior in her, I swear to gods I will give you _such_ a tongue lashing.”

Shiro wiggled his eyebrows. “The fun kind?”

His boyfriend gave him the most unamused, deadpan look Shiro had ever seen. “Keep talking like that and you’ll _never_ get the fun kind from me.”

“Ouch.”

“Um…” Shigure said, beet red. “Should you two really be talking about this at the children’s table?”

Kanna tugged on Nina’s hoodie. “Nina, what’s a fun tongue-lashing?”

“Well, you see Kanna, it’s when—”

“LET’S CHANGE THE SUBJECT,” Shigure said very loudly.

“So about that ham!” Soleil supplied.

“You two need to get a room,” Nina scoffed at Shiro and Siegbert.

“Like the one they played Twister in?”

“Yes.”

_“No!”_

 

***

 

Eventually, the time came for them to leave for home.

All of the relatives were gathered outside, saying their goodbyes to one another as they prepared to return to their respective homes. Siblings hugged and said their farewells, while cousins plotted their shenanigans for the next meeting (they would be masterful and many).

After they said goodbye to all of their relatives, Shiro and Siegbert had one last farewell to bid.

“Father,” Siegbert said as his parents loaded up the car, “can I go ask Shiro something?”

“Shiro?” his father asked, scratching his chin. “That’s an odd request.”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“You just had all semester to talk to Shiro, sweetie,” Charlotte said. “Don’t you want to spend some time with your family?”

“Er, o-of course I do,” Siegbert said, looking down. “But, uh… it’s super-secret-roommate business?”

His parents narrowed their eyes at him. He felt as if they were perusing him, trying to detect his _lies._

“...Well, that sounds reasonable!” Charlotte eventually said. “Go have fun, kiddo.”

Siegbert let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Mother.”

“Yep. Just be back soon! We’re going to go see a show tomorrow morning in Nohr, so you need to go bed early.”

“Of course. I won’t be long,” Siegbert said, kissing his mother on the cheek before turning and running towards where Ryoma’s car was parked.

“Sieggles!” Shiro said as he saw his boyfriend running towards him.

His father shook his head. “Show some respect, Shiro.”

“It’s fine, sir,” Siegbert said as he stopped in front of them. “Most of my friends call me by something short for ‘Siegbert’. Besides, I find the nicknames kind of endearing.”

“Hm. That’s fair, I suppose.” Ryoma crossed his arms. “Do you want something, my boy?”

“Um, I was just wondering if I could borrow your son for a moment?”

Shiro looked from Siegbert to his father with wide eyes.

Ryoma scratched his chin. “Hm. I suppose so.”

“Thank you _so_ much,” Siegbert said, grabbing Shiro’s hand and pulling him away.

“What are you doing?” Shiro whispered to his boyfriend as he pulled him back into the house.

“I have a gift for you,” he whispered in reply. His roommate’s eyes widened as Siegbert closed the door behind him, pulled his head forwards, and pressed their lips together.

“Mmmph?” Shiro mumbled, shocked.

Siegbert turned his head to the side. “We’re not going to see each other for a few weeks, so might as well make these last few moments count, right?”

His boyfriend blinked, then smiled. “I can get behind that.”

“Get behind what?”

They jolted, startled, heads whipping around to see Kana and Kanna standing there.

“Holy heck, do we need to put _bells_ around your necks?!” Shiro said. Siegbert blushed, because not only had they yet again walking in on them in compromising positions, but his hands were remarkably close to being too low on Shiro’s back to be appropriate for their juvenile eyes.

Siegbert turned back to Shiro. “Maybe we should just wait until we’re back at school and alone.”

“Agreed.” Shiro grabbed Siegbert’s chin. “But you owe me a kiss.”

“Shiro, the children.”

“Oh, right.”

The two separated, and Shiro chased their two youngest cousins, screaming, out of the house.

Siegbert smiled.

He couldn’t wait to get back to school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Siegbert would come to regret those words, as school sucks.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Siegbert is stressed, so Shiro decides to help him unwind with a fun new date idea called "breaking all the rules".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I'm just skipping ahead like two months don't @ me  
> Also! I'm done with all the other chapters, so I'm going to start updating weekly from now on! :^D!!!!!!!!!  
> Also also this chapter is really cute <3 I love it. (There's lots of FE7 references lmao; for reference, all of the games that take place in the same universe as Fates [FE1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 13, and 14] are considered history, while the rest are considered fiction. Hope that clears stuff up!)

“Ugh,” Siegbert groaned, lacing his hands in his hair as he stared at his paper. He’d been doing this for hours, trying to make sense of his pages upon pages of notes. He was supposed to write a paper for his AP Chemistry class, but between being incredibly tired from an all-nighter he pulled for homework as well as the rest of the week looming before him dauntingly, he felt like he as dying. The more he looked at his notes, the less sense they made, the less the numbers and letters looked like real numbers and letters, the less he understood his own handwriting. He laid his head down on his desk, covered in his hands.

“Are you alright, Sieg?” Shiro asked. He was sitting on his bed doing his own homework, his books and papers laid out across his lap.

Siegbert sighed. “Just a case of the Mondays.”

“…Babe.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s Tuesday.”

“…Son of a bitch.”

Shiro closed his book. “Do you need to relax? I can spare a minute for you.”

Siegbert sighed again, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, pushing his reading glasses up onto his forehead. “No…”

“Are you sure?”

“No.”

His boyfriend shook his head, throwing his legs over the side of his bed, standing up. “Come on, Sieg. Let’s go for a walk around campus. Maybe get some coffee?”

“…Coffee sounds nice.”

“Heh. C’mon, dude, before you burst a brain vessel trying to write a thousand words on physics or whatever.”

“It’s chemistry.”

“Whatever, they’re both sciences.”

 

***

 

“Here you guys are,” Dwyer yawned as he handed Shiro and Siegbert their coffees. “I put extra espresso shots in yours, Sieg.”

“Thank the lords,” he responded, putting the coffee to his lips and tilting it up at a generous angle, drinking as if his life depended on it. Shiro and Dwyer stared at him for a moment.

“Dude… is he okay?” Dwyer whispered in an aside to Shiro.

He sighed. “I don’t know. He’s been stressed out lately. He’s had homework every night for the past two weeks, a paper due tomorrow, and a _huge_ calculus test first thing in the morning. And that’s not even mentioning his clubs and stuff.”

“Oh, yeah. I heard that he had a breakdown at drama club the other night.”

“He _what?!”_

Siegbert looked up from his coffee. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Nothing, babe. Don’t worry about it.” Shiro forced a smile. His boyfriend raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and turned away.

Shiro grabbed Dwyer’s arm and pulled him aside. “What do you mean, ‘had a breakdown’?”

“First of all,” Dwyer said, pulling his arm out of Shiro’s grip, “Ow. Second of all, that’s just what I heard from Nina. She said that they got held back for about an hour after practice and he panicked. She said he cried inconsolably until Soleil offered to take him back to your dorm.”

“What the— when was this?!”

“Like, Friday? I thought you knew.”

Shiro grimaced. He knew Siegbert had seemed tense that night, but wouldn’t tell him why. He wished Siegbert had told him.

He shook his head, taking a sip of his coffee. “I’ll talk to him about it.”

“Good. He seems stressed lately. Maybe you guys should get out sometime. He needs a day off; otherwise he might _literally_ crack from the pressure.”

Shiro frowned. It was only Tuesday, yet Sieg was already stressing out hardcore.

“At least he’s got the caffeine from those espresso shots to keep him awake.”

“Oh, espresso doesn’t actually have more caffeine than drip coffee, that’s just a lie mainstream cafes like Starfucks would lead you to believe. I just put them in Siegbert’s because like, as much anxiety as that guy has, if he ingests enough caffeine to increase his heart rate he _will_ explode.”

“Oh. Good idea.” Shiro put his hands in his pockets. “I think I’m gonna go talk to him.”

“You do you, boo.”

“Dwyer, did you just call me ‘boo’?”

“Yeah, because you’re so ugly that it’s scary.”

“That sounds more like you,” Shiro remarked as he walked away.

“Hey,” Siegbert said as Shiro approached him. He’d successfully downed the entirety of his scorching-hot coffee in the time that Shiro had been gone. “I think I’m going to get another of these. I’m already starting to feel better.”

“Make sure you drink in moderation, okay?”

“I will.” He frowned. “What were you talking to Dwyer about?”

“Uh… nothing. Just coffee.”

Siegbert raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Did you know that espresso actually has _less_ caffeine than drip coffee?”

This seemed to convince him, because he didn’t ask again. Or maybe he just wasn’t interested in hearing more coffee fun facts that he could easily get off of Google.

“Hey,” Shiro began, taking Siegbert’s hand, “let’s go on a walk, okay?”

His roommate gave some considerative mumbling. “Eh, sure. But can I at least get my coffee first?”

“Heh heh. Nice to see your priorities are in order.”

“Coffee comes before kisses.”

“Pfft. Let’s get you your hot bean juice, dude.”

“Do you think we should be holding hands in public?” Siegbert asked concernedly as they approached the counter where Dwyer stood with Siegbert’s refill. “I mean, Dwyer’s dad is inside right there.”

“My dad doesn’t care,” Dwyer scoffed as he handed them the drink. “Here, watch this. HEY, _DAD._ ”

“What do you _want?”_

“I like boys.”

“Good for you, now go make some gods damned coffee.”

“Thanks, old man,” Dwyer said, flashing his dad a thumbs up. His mother shook her head at both of them.

“What about your mom?”

“Hey Mom, can I call Shigure and Asugi over to have one big, passionate gay orgy in the basement?”

She sighed as if this were her everyday. “As long as you use protection.”

“Cool.” He turned to Shiro and Siegbert. “See?”

“I wish my dad were that chill,” Shiro sighed.

“You want _my_ dad? I’d be willing to sell him to you. For free.”

“Dwyer, if you give something to someone for free, that’s not _selling_ it. Now shut up and get back to work.”

“Oh, fuck off, Dad,” Dwyer scoffed, but he complied even still, waving to his friends and returning to the coffee machine.

Shiro turned to his boyfriend. “So… about that walk?”

 

Siegbert and Shiro left the coffee shop hand-in-hand. The city wasn’t very busy; it was a slow Tuesday afternoon, and there really wasn’t anything happening on-campus. Despite being February, it was warm, typical of the Vallite weather. Although Shiro missed the snow, he didn’t miss the cold.

“Thanks for getting me out of the dorm, Shiro,” Siegbert sighed after taking a long sip of coffee. “I really needed a break.”

“I heard.” Shiro nudged him gently. “What happened at drama club, Sieg?”

“Oh… nothing.” Siegbert shrugged. “I just got a little upset is all.”

Shiro could tell that he was lying through his teeth, but he knew better than to press it too much. He had to be subtle if he wanted to find out what was wrong.

“Why were you upset?” Shiro asked.

Siegbert shrugged. “I think it was a lot of things, really. My homework has been piling up lately, and I’ve been really busy. Then Friday we had to stay an hour late from drama club, which made me think I wouldn’t get my homework done, and I guess I just got kind of upset. Soleil helped me through it though. She had to walk me back to the dorm. That’s why I went home early.”

“Why? I thought you just got a _little_ upset.”

“I— I did…”

“Babe, did you cry?”

“Pfft. Me? Cry?”

“Sieg.”

“...Fine. Yes. You got me.”

“I _knew_ it! Why didn’t you tell me?”

Siegbert glanced down. “I… I’m sorry. I just didn’t want you to worry.”

“Babe, I’m always worried about you.” Shiro squeezed Siegbert’s hand. “If you needed to talk, you could’ve just said something to me.”

Siegbert shook his head. “Yeah, well, it doesn’t really matter. After my meltdown, I just went to bed, so I didn’t even get my homework done anyways. I had to do it Saturday when I was supposed to go into town with some of the girls. What a waste. I really wanted to go, too.”

“What did they go to town for?” Shiro asked, cocking his head.

“Me, Nina, Ophelia, Caeldori, and Mitama were going to go to this show in town. There’s probably a poster for it around here somewhere… oh!” Siegbert pointed to a pole that was littered with flyers and stickers. The one he was gesturing to was an advertisement for a theater troupe that was performing in the town.

“‘ _The Elibe Saga’,_ huh?” Shiro asked, scratching his chin.

“They’re doing two different shows— _‘The Blazing Blade’_ and _‘The Binding Blade’._ We went to see the latter on a drama club field trip.” Siegbert smiled, putting his hand to the poster fondly. “ _‘The Blazing Blade’_ covers one of my favorite units in our classical literature class. I was so excited to see it, but…” his face fell. “Ah. It looks like Thursday’s the last day, and it’s a matinee.”

“What?”

“A matinee. It’s a daytime show. Strange that they’d be having one on a Thursday of all days, but—”

“Siegbert, I know what a matinee is.” That was a lie, but Siegbert didn’t have to know that. “You really wanted to go to this show?”

“Well, yes, but…”

“Then why not just go?” Shiro asked.

Siegbert narrowed his eyes. “What are you proposing, that we skip class?”

“Well, I mean…”

“Shiro! Are you insane?”

“Wait! Hear me out.”

His boyfriend glared. “You’re lucky that these thirteen espresso shots have me sedated enough to actually listen to what you have to say.”

“Alright, listen. Sieg, you need a day off.”

“No I don’t.”

“Yes, you do! You’ve been killing yourself these past few weeks. I know you act like you can take it all, but Sieg, sometimes you push yourself _way_ too hard.” Shiro furrowed his brow. “I hate it when you get like that.”

Siegbert looked away, grabbing one of his arms self-consciously.

“You look like you haven’t slept in days, you hardly ever leave our dorm, you constantly skip meals…” he shook his head. “It’s not healthy.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. I _know_ you’re not. You always say you are, but I know better than that, Sieg.” Shiro put his hands on his roommates’ shoulders. “I know you just want to do your best so you don’t let anyone down. But you don’t have to make yourself suffer to do that.”

“I…” Siegbert paused for a minute, looking Shiro in the eyes, seeming to search for words to say. Shiro knew he was going to argue and protest. That’s just how he was. He always wanted to put everything before himself, whether it was to impress his parents or stay on top of his classes or to avoid being a burden to those around him.

“You’re right.”

“You’re damn right I— wait. What?”

Siegbert sighed, wiping his eyes. “Honestly, I’m so tired all the time. As much as I love working hard to succeed in school and going to all of my clubs and spending time with my friends, I can’t keep juggling them without some actual downtime.” He smirked. “Besides, when was the last time we went on an actual date?”

As his boyfriend smiled up at him coyly, Shiro blinked, confused.

He was actually… _agreeing_ with him?

He was _right_ about something?

“So… what you’re saying is… we should go?”

“Why not? It could be fun.”

“Oh.”

“What do you mean, ‘oh’?”

“I uh…” Shiro chuckled nervously. “I didn’t think I’d get this far.”

“Pfft.” Siegbert punching his arm lightheartedly. “I’m not _always_ a goody-two-shoes.”

“Only a goody-two-shoes would say ‘goody-two-shoes’.”

“Shiro, do you want to still have a boyfriend at the end of the day?”

“Point taken. But, dude, this is going to take some serious planning.”

“What do you mean? I thought most of you skipped all the time.”

“Okay, listen, _first of all,_ we didn’t skip ‘all the time’.” Shiro shook his head. “What do you take us for— common delinquents?”

“Well—”

“Don’t answer that. The thing is, we go to boarding school now. We live AT SCHOOL. We have to be sneaky when we skip.”

“Hm.” Siegbert crossed his arms. “I didn’t think about that.”

“Well, then,” Shiro grinned, “it’s a good thing you’re dating a skipping expert!”

The two paused as Siegbert narrowed his eyes.

“Er… forget I said that.”

“I’m dating a ‘skipping expert’, eh?”

“I said _forget!”_

 

***

 

Through the next few hours, the boys formulated a plan. Everything had to be perfect for this to work.

All throughout the next day, Siegbert was humming with nervous energy. He’d never done anything like this before. This was exciting. This was new. This was… against the rules.

About the time he had this thought was when he would usually begin to freak out.

And freak out he did.

A million thoughts were running through his mind at once at any given moment, usually along the lines of _“Are we ACTUALLY doing this?”_ or _“We’ll never get away with it”_ , but mostly _“What the HECK am I thinking?!”_

Siegbert exhaled deeply, lacing his hands in his hair, closing his eyes. This was ludacris. They’d get caught, of course they would. Then they’d have to explain to their school’s headmaster exactly why they were out, and then he’d call their parents, they’d both suspended— or worse, expelled— and it would just be a huge mess.

Soleil, who was sitting next to him, nudged his arm, bringing him back to reality.

“H-Huh?”

“Dude, the prof’s giving a speech. Are you alright?”

Siegbert looked down at his notes, frowning. “I-I’m fine.”

“Really?” Nina asked, leaning over Soleil to get a glimpse at him. “You look like you’re about to cry. More than usual, I mean.”

“Wow, thanks, Nina.” Siegbert rolled his eyes. In reality, he probably was about to cry. More than usual. He couldn’t shake his anxiety yet again. Before he’d left their dorms, Shiro had told Siegbert that Asugi “knew a guy” (which was a very terrifying way to put it), so he was going to buy the tickets today.

“Leave him alone, guys,” Ophelia scoffed.

“Thank you, Ophelia. See, you guys should follow her example; Ophelia is a good friend and a nice person who—”

“No, I just want to hear the next table over’s conversation; I think Rhajat’s trying to convince Velouria and Selkie to commit crimes.”

“Wow, thanks, Ophelia.”

“Wait,” Nina interrupted. Everyone turned to her. “...What _kinds_ of crimes?”

As the bell rang, signifying the beginning of his lunch period, Siegbert followed his friends into the hallway, lagging behind as they talked about their days.

“Cheer up, Sieg,” Soleil said, punching his arm. “You know what I always say.”

“To turn my frown upside-down?”

“Yep!”

“So what you’re saying is that he should break his own neck and turn his head one-hundred and eighty degrees,” Nina supplied.

“Nina, no.”

As they walked, Siegbert felt a bump on his shoulder. As he turned, he saw Shiro walking by, holding up a pair of tickets, mouthing, _“I GOT ‘EM!”_

Well… there was no turning back now.

Siegbert was in too deep.

 

***

 

“Shiggy, please.”

“I absolutely will _not.”_

“C’mon, Songs, be cool.”

“Asugi, why are you promoting this behavior?”

“Uh, I dunno, because it’s funny? Do I really need a motivation to do the things I do?”

Shigure rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and sighing. “I don’t know about you two, but I’m a changed man. I won’t be engaging in this deviant behavior any longer.”

“Dude, just last year you would have gladly done it for me.”

“True, but then again, we went to public school, so these kinds of things happened everyday.”

Shiro, Asugi, and Shigure were sitting in the common area of the residence hall. Currently, the first two were trying to convince Shigure to help out Shiro in only the smallest of ways.

“Come on, man, is asking you to pretend to be my dad and call the school really that much to ask?”

“You mean pretending to be my _very_ intimidating uncle, breaking the rules by helping you skip school, becoming involved in your ridiculous activities, and possibly getting in a huge amount of trouble myself? _Yes!”_

Only the smallest of things.

“Please, Shigure?”

“No.”

“I’ll do your laundry for the next week.”

“I’m going to have to butt in and say ‘no way’,” Asugi said, “I don’t trust you with anyone’s laundry, Shiro, and I mix my laundry with Shigure’s to trick him into doing it.”

“Asugi, I _know_ you do that. Also, start doing your own laundry.”

“Nah, I’ll just take it over to Dwyer’s.”

“Great.”

Shiro frowned. “Uh… I’ll do your homework?”

“Thanks, but you can barely do your own homework, so I’ll pass.”

“Ouch. Feeling spicy today, Shiggy?”

Shigure crossed his arms. “I think this conversation is over.”

“But—”

“Let’s go, Asugi.”

“Asugi! Not you too!” Shiro wailed. “I thought you were my best friend!”

Asugi shrugged as he followed Shiro’s cousin out. “Sorry, bro, but unlike you, he’s pretty.”

“You damn traitor.”

Shiro crossed his arms. _Shoot._ Shigure’s involvement was integral to this brilliant scheme. Where else was he going to find a guy who sounded uncannily similar to his father.

“Father, please stop this! You are making such a scene! We are in public!”

“Mitama, sweetie, please stop haikuing at me, it’s disheartening.”

Shiro turned. This was just his luck! Mitama’s father was always down for illicit activities.

“Hey! Mr. Mitama’s Dad!” he said, marching over to wear Mitama and her father sat.

“Ah, if it isn’t the lobster’s spawn!” Azama cackled, crossing his arms. “My daughter was just telling me that I have you to thank for the fact that she’s no longer what you younguns would refer to as a ‘single pringle’!”

“Father, _please.”_

“What? I’m down with the young people’s lingo! It’s uber amazeballs. Lit-fam-bae! How do you do, fellow kids?”

Mitama put her head in her hands. “Shiro, what do you want?”

“I just wanted to ask if you’d like to do something that’s sort-of-not-really-but-totally against the rules.”

“No.”

“Would I ever!”

“ _Dad!”_

Azama shrugged. “What? I live for chaos, sweetie! You should know this by now.”

“Cool! So you’ll do it?”

“Of course!”

“Heck yeah!”

“On one condition.”

“Son of a bitch.”

“Don’t talk about your father that way, Shiro.”

Mitama elbowed her dad.

“Ouch! Mitama, honey, you’re going to have to work on those violent urges. It’s not becoming of a lady of your station.”

“Father, I am in high school; you know I do not have a ‘station’.”

Shiro fidgeted. “Uh, so… I kinda have to make this phone call now, so…?”

“Oh, right. I’ll only do it… if you convince Jakob to lift his lifetime ban on me from the coffee shop.”

“...How did you get banned for life?”

“Don’t ask,” Mitama urged him. “ _Please.”_

Shiro shrugged. “Well, I’ll try, but no promises.”

“That seems reasonable! Works for me. Wait here, kiddos.”

As Azama walked away, Shiro leaned over to Mitama and said, “So like… what does a guy like that do for a living?”

“He’s a priest.”

“...What the fuck?”

“I know.”

“But he’s so—”

“I know.”

Shiro opened his mouth to speak, but thinking better of it, he frowned and scratched his head. “Huh…”

“Alright, boyo,” Azama said, returning, “they bought it, so you’re officially out of school for the day! You’re free from the shackles of secondary school, cast about the legs of vulnerable teens to weigh them down, meant to prepare them for the future but in the long run only damning them to an eternity of anxiety and debt, crushing them under the weight of societal expectations and the daunting prospect of a bleak, ruinous future with no truly good opportunities in sight!”

“Dad.”

“Yes sweetums?”

“Too real.”

“Sorry, dear. Anyways, have fun, Shiro! Make sure to break plenty of rules for me.”

“Uhh, you got it, dude.”

 

About an hour later, Shiro waited at the scheduled rendezvous point. He was sitting outside the train station, waiting for Siegbert. They’d both agreed to leave the school at different times in order to avoid arousing suspicion. He was worried, but anytime he got too preoccupied, he just checked their message history.

 

 **Shiro** (12:00): Im @ the station

 

 **SieggyBaby <3 **(12:00): I’m on my way!

 

 **Shiro** (12:01): Alright sieg, i’ll see u here

 

 **Shiro** (12:01): <3 u, babe

 

 **SieggyBaby <3 **(12:03): …

 

 **SieggyBaby <3 **(12:03): Wow, cheesy much? :^P

 

 **SieggyBaby <3 **(12:04): Just kidding. See you later. I love you, too <3

 

“Shiro!”

He looked up from his phone to see Siegbert waving, approaching the train station. Shiro smiled as his boyfriend caught up to him.

“Hey, babe.”

Siegbert smiled. “Have you been waiting long?”

“Nah.” Shiro winked. “No amount of time is too long for you.”

“Ugh,” his boyfriend groaned, rolling his eyes.

“Did you have any trouble getting out of class?”

“No. I faked a fever.” Siegbert smiled slyly. “I happen to know for a fact that Dwyer always heats your coffee to whatever temperature you ask for if you so choose, and one-hundred and three degrees is more than enough to get out of school if you stick your thermometer in the cup while the nurse’s back is turned.”

“Wow… I’m dating a genius…”

“Uh, that’s a pretty easy thing to do.”

“You’re so smart, Sieg…”

“I’m really not.”

“And pretty, too.”

“Ugh, shut up,” Siegbert chuckled, punching Shiro’s arm lightly, though he blushed slightly as he did so. “Can we hurry up and catch the train? I don’t want to be late for the show.”

“Oh, please. We’ve got all the time in the world.”

“If we miss this show, I’ll actually break up with you.”

“To the train!”

Shiro took Siegbert’s hand, and the two walked through the station. It had been a while since they’d really been together on a date, as neither of them really had time for it anymore. Whenever they got closer together, their shoulders touched, which brought to Shiro’s attention the fact that Siegbert was now his height. He disliked this fact greatly. If Siegbert had another growth spurt, it would mean Shiro’s worst nightmares had come to light.

He decided he wouldn’t tell Siegbert unless he needed some _serious_ cheering up. As long as Siegbert didn’t notice, Shiro would never have to admit to the possibility that he might someday be taller than him. He would never submit.

“What are you thinking about, Shiro? You’re awfully quiet.”

“Uhhhhh, Minecraft.”

“Pfft.” Siegbert chuckled as they stepped onto the train, grabbing their seats next to each other.

Deciding to take his mind off of his height-based woes, Shiro said, “So tell me about this show.”

Immediately, his roommate’s face lit up. “Oh my gosh, so, it’s based on this ancient epic set in Elibe, and it centers around these three lordlings, Lyn, Hector, and Eliwood, and their quest to defeat Nergal and his morphs. It all starts in the plainlands of Sacae, where Lyn, the recently-orphaned daughter of the former leader of their tribe, Hassar, meets Mark, a tactician with mysterious origins…”

Shiro would admit, he never really paid much attention in their lit classes, and this stuff tended to bore him, but as Siegbert went on about Lyn and Eliwood and Hector, and all of their friends, and their adventures across Elibe, he could tell how much he loved all of it, and that was enough to make him want to listen to everything he said.

“So, wait, let me get this right,” Shiro interrupted at a certain point in the story, “Nergal was Ninian and Nils’s—”

“Father? Yeah, that’s a detail from the story that most people forget.”

“Huh…” Shiro crossed his arms, thinking.

“I’m sorry,” Siegbert said, looking away and running his hand through his hair. “You must think this is all silly.”

“Of course I don’t!”

“You don’t think it’s just nerd stuff?”

“Oh, I do. Uh, b-but,” he continued when Siegbert grimaced, “it’s your nerd stuff, and you like it, so I like hearing about it.”

His boyfriend looked back. “Really?”

“Really really.” Shiro smiled, squeezing Siegbert’s hand. “I could never get tired of you.”

That inspired an instant reddening of the face on Siegbert’s part. “Sh-shut up.”

“Aw, Siegbert, do you have a crush on me? That’s so embarrassing.”

“Shiro, we’ve been dating for seven months.”

 

***

 

“Oh my gods,” Siegbert said as soon as they stepped out of the theater, “that was _amazing!”_

They’d just finished watching the show, and now that he and Shiro were outside, it was officially his time to nerd-out.

“ _Ahhhh,_ the production was so great! All of the actors fit really well into their roles. And gods, did you see the set changes? They were so fluid! I can only _dream_ of being in something as professional as that. That was probably the most spectacular show I’ve ever _seen—_ don’t you think so?”

Shiro laughed. “Yeah, I’d say it was pretty lit, too.”

“And lit it was,” Siegbert agreed, smiling to himself.

“I’ll admit,” his boyfriend began, “I’ve only ever really seen plays and musicals that Neeners has dragged me to, but it was a lot of fun to go with you.”

“I should drag you to plays and musicals more often, then. Hey, maybe someday I can take you to see _The Blazing Blade._ Gods, you’ll love it. Roy’s our boy!”

“I don’t know what that means, but I love you.”

They joined hands as they walked away from the theater, smiling to themselves about the great time they’d just had.

“That was the most fun I’ve had in a really long time,” Siegbert continued, leaning his head against Shiro’s. “Also, thanks for agreeing to stay after a bit longer so that I could get the actors to sign my playbill.”

“It’s fine,” Shiro laughed. “It was nice to see you so excited about something. Although, you did seem strangely excited about Hector’s actor…”

Siegbert raised an eyebrow. “What are you implying?”

“Nothing, nothing… just making sure I shouldn’t be jealous.”

“Oh, pffft,” the blonde boy said, rolling his eyes. “Please. Hector’s a fictional character. You, my dear, are very real.”

“And if Hector were real?”

“I’m sorry, Shiro, I love you, but have you _seen_ him? I’d leave you to be held in his strong, beautiful arms.”

“Hey! I have strong, beautiful arms…”

“Of course you do, dear.”

Shiro crossed his arms. “I can’t believe this.”

“You can’t?”

“I mean… well, I guess I can. Hector’s pretty hot. Same with Eliwood. Lyn’s hot too. Have you seen her legs?”

“Okay, that’s enough of that,” Siegbert decided.

They continued walking through the city. Despite having attended school there for almost three semesters and having countless relatives living there, Siegbert hadn’t really gotten out to look around Valla much; he was usually too busy with school. It was a pretty place, and since the climate was warm pretty much year-round, it was warm despite being the last few weeks of winter. The city itself was beautiful; there was so much he hadn’t seen.

“You know,” Shiro began, “we’ve still got a while left in the day. There’s a lot we could do…”

“No,” Siegbert insisted, “classes end in an hour, so we should be getting back to school. But maybe some other time?”

“I liked that idea.”

The two stopped suddenly, then turned around to face each other.

“Hey, Sieg?”

“Yeah?”

“What are you thinking about?”

What he was really thinking about was how glad he was that they got to do this, and how grateful he was for a break, and how much he wanted to kiss his boyfriend right then and there.

Instead, Siegbert smirked and said, “Minecraft.”

Shiro laughed. “Oh, but of course.”

The two leaned in for a kiss. For once, neither of them cared that they were in public. All of their friends were in school, and no one they knew lived in this part of the city. For once, Siegbert felt like the two of them were alone, even in the midst of a crowded city.

“Hey, honey? I just finished the show. I’m headed for the train. I’ll meet you there…”

Oh, _shit._

“What’s wrong?” Shiro asked as Siegbert pulled back suddenly.

“We have to go,” Siegbert said, grabbing Shiro’s hand and pulling him through the crowd, “ _now._ ”

“What? Why?”

“Don’t look now,” his roommate hissed.

Shiro glanced over his shoulder. There was none other than exactly someone they didn’t want to see— one of their relatives.

More specifically, Takumi.

Currently, Uncle Takumi was on the phone, probably with his spouse, and hadn’t seen them, so they still had time.

“Now sounds good,” Shiro agreed.

The two ran through the crowd, trying to avoid arousing suspicion while also avoiding detection. Siegbert began to fill with dread; all this careful planning, only to be brought down by one oversight. They absolutely could _not_ get caught. Students weren’t supposed to be this far off-campus without the consent of the school’s faculty, not to mention that classes were still in session back at the school.

...And there was no way to explain why they were skipping class off-campus together without outing both of them to their families and teachers.

That was what truly ate away at him. Gods, he wasn’t ready to tell his _parents._ He loved Shiro, he did, but the thought of telling Xander and Charlotte was terrifying. If they didn’t approve, that would mean that the two of them would be forced apart, and Siegbert knew that he couldn’t live with that.

“In here,” Shiro said, running back into the theater, where the actors were still signing playbills. Siegbert snapped out of it, following his boyfriend inside. The two breathed heavily; Siegbert doubled over, holding his knees.

“D-Do you think we lost him?” he asked, panting.

“Um…”

“What?” Siegbert groaned, straightening up to a standing position. “What is it?”

As he stood, he locked eyes with the person Shiro was looking at.

Standing there with a stern look on his face, arms crossed and holding a fully-signed playbill, was his uncle Leo.

“Care to explain what you’re doing out here, boys?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU WERE BAMBOOZLED!!!  
> Leo is a bitch-ass narc


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Siegbert and Shiro face Siegpunishment for their Siegcrimes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just going to warn you that this fic makes a severe one-eighty so idk what to tell ya  
> Special thanks to my friends Nelly and Ryan for being the best betas ever, by the way! There are way less inconsistencies and spelling errors than before thanks to them. I'd link their AO3s but I'm lazy :^P  
> EDIT: Waaaaah this updated early!! Oops. I'm sorry! I'll still post another chapter on Sunday this week though!

Sitting in the principal’s office, a few feet away from Siegbert, Shiro knew that he’d fucked up.

Siegbert was sitting in the other chair, eyes red and puffy, and Shiro could tell he was close to tears. He sniffed and wiped his nose with his sleeve, looking down, meeting neither Shiro nor the principal’s eyes as the latter spoke again.

“...Do you boys have _any_ idea how _stupid_ of a stunt you’ve pulled?” Fuga sighed.

Siegbert didn’t answer, lips trembling.

The principal sighed once more, turning to Shiro. “Well, your roommate doesn’t seem to wish to speak. How about you, hm?”

Shiro grimaced. “I…”

“Ah, well,” he said, glancing up as a faculty member motioned to him from outside the door, “it seems as though we won’t have to wait long before you realize. Your fathers are here.”

Siegbert’s eyes widened. Shiro clenched his fists, looking at his shoes. He’d figured it would take the trains longer to get from Windmire and Shirasagi. Apparently, he’d been wrong.

“Tell them to sit in the waiting room. I’ll be there in a second.” Fuga cast his firm gaze to the two boys as the door closed behind them. “I’ll be back. No funny business while I’m gone.” He rose from his seat and subsequently left the room.

They sat in silence for a while.

“...Sieg, I’m so—”

“Don’t,” Siegbert whispered, eye still trained on the floor.

“I…” Shiro bit his lip. “I’m sorry. This is my fault.”

Siegbert shut his eyes tightly. “Shiro, this isn’t just your fault. It’s both of ours.”

“Yeah, but… we could’ve been more careful. Or…” he sighed, crossing his arms. “We shouldn’t have done it at all. And it was all _my_ idea.”

“I went along with it.” He still wouldn’t meet Shiro’s gaze. “I pretended to be sick to get out of school. I willingly broke the rules. I… I have to take responsibility for my own actions.”

“But—”

“Shiro, just let it go,” Siegbert begged, voice breaking.

Shiro pursed his lips, then reached out to take his boyfriend’s hand. “Hey. Look at me.”

Siegbert sniffled, then slowly raised his head. His eyes were red from hours of crying, his hair disheveled. Shiro brushed a strand of it out of his face, squeezed his hand reassuringly.

“It’s going to be alright.”

“You…” Siegbert sniffed, then smiled weakly. “You think so?”

“It’s just a bump in the road, Sieggy. It’ll pass.” He paused. “It might pass like a _kidney stone,_ but it’ll pass.”

Siegbert laughed, but his face soon fell again. “I’m… scared.”

“I know. But trust me— it’s going to be fine.”

The two leaned closer, their faces warm. Shiro closed his eyes, heart racing like it always did whenever they were about to kiss…

“Well, sirs, they’re right in here.”

The two ripped their faces away as soon as they heard voices in the hall, not allowing time for even a peck on the lips as they tore their hands from the other’s to rest on their respective laps. Siegbert returned to looking forlornly at the floor. Shiro sighed, crossing his arms, heartbeat still quick in his chest.

The door opened. “Here they are.”

Shiro turned. Standing at the door was Xander and Ryoma, both looking extraordinarily pissed. Xander looked as Siegbert, who still wouldn’t look up, though he seemed to sense his father’s disappointed eyes on the back of his neck. Ryoma shook his head at Shiro. The meaning was clear— _“Not this shit again”._

“You can have a seat.”

Their fathers brought up chairs to sit on either side of their respective sons. Shiro felt his father’s crushing presence next to him, though Ryoma wouldn’t look at him. Fuga returned to his seat, crossing his arms on the table.

“Now, I’m sure you know most of the details, but let me refresh your memories.” He pulled up the report, clearing his throat. “The two boys were reportedly seen off-campus during school hours and have been brought here due to this truancy, as well as faking illnesses and impersonating one of you over the phone in vain attempts to dismiss their unwarranted absences. The intended punishment is suspension.”

Siegbert winced. Xander sighed. Ryoma smacked Shiro on the back of the head.

“Ow!” Shiro rubbed his head, readjusting his headband. Fuga continued.

“However, I’m going to be a bit… lenient… considering that Siegbert has never done anything like this before, and Shiro knows full well that I don’t take things like this lightly. Something about this doesn’t quite add up.”

Both boys tensed, though if Fuga saw, he didn’t acknowledge it.

“Thus, I’ll give both of them chances to explain themselves. We’ll see how the stories align, and then I’ll make my decision.”

“Thank you, Fuga,” Xander said, nodding gravely. “I’m sure Siegbert has _quite_ a bit of explaining to do.”

Siegbert wrapped his arms around himself.

“Hm.” Fuga turned to Ryoma and Shiro. “Well, Ryoma, I’ll let you two step out and give you a moment to talk to your son.”

“Mm-hm.” Ryoma stood, and Shiro begrudgingly followed suit. Shiro cast one last glance at Siegbert as he followed his father out of the room, and his heart filled with pity.

 

***

 

“Well, Siegbert?”

Siegbert flinched, clenching the fabric of his pants. His limbs were stiff, he was shaking nervously, cold sweat was beginning to form all over him, his heart was beating so fast he could feel it in his ears, and his stomach felt as though it would rid itself of all its contents at any given moment.

His father was looking at him expectantly. He sounded calm— _too_ calm. He’d expected anger. Xander was more than angry.

He was utterly, epically disappointed.

And somehow, that was so much worse.

Fuga sighed. “Siegbert, I know that the pressure is a lot for you. But I assure you— your punishment will be _much_ worse if you don’t explain yourself in some way.”

Siegbert hugged himself tighter, training his eyes on the ground. “Th-that’s not what I’m worried about…”

“Hm.” He heard the sound of fingers drumming against a hard surface. “Then what _are_ you worried about?”

“Sh… Shiro…” he muttered quietly.

“So, are you placing the blame on him?”

“No!” Siegbert replied quickly, looking up. Fuga’s eyes widened. “I… I mean…” he glanced away. “It’s not his fault. I broke the rules willingly, and I shouldn’t have.”

“That’s very mature of you to admit. But I can’t let you go until I have a story.”

“Yes, sir. I… understand.” He fidgeted a bit. “I… well, I’d been so stressed lately with school… and clubs… and family… I just… wanted a day off. I know I should have just waited until the weekend, but we both wanted to see a show in town that was today-only, and I guess we just… made stupid decision after stupid decision.” Siegbert sighed. “I’ll take any punishment you want. Just… don’t blame Shiro. It wasn’t his fault.”

Xander looked at Fuga, who sighed. “Well, Siegbert, I’m sure that all of this business has been punishment enough for a boy such as yourself. However, I can’t make an actual decision until I speak to Shiro.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you for your time, sir,” Siegbert whispered.

 

***

 

“Of all the idiotic, dim-witted, downright _stupid_ things to do—”

“I’m sorry, alright?! I already said that!”

“ _Sorry_ doesn’t cut it!” Ryoma roared.

The two were sitting in the waiting room, Shiro a full two chairs away from his father, arms crossed, leaning against the wall and staring obstinately at the opposite one. His father had been going on like this for the past twenty minutes.

“I just can’t believe it. Honestly! What would your mother think?!”

Shiro flinched, balling his fists as he stood, turning to yell at his father. “Why don’t you just shut up about her, okay?! She’s not here! You don’t know what she’d think, so can it!”

Ryoma rose to his feet, voice rising. “ _Young man_ —”

Before they could continue their shouting match, the door to the principal’s office opened. Shiro turned; Xander was holding the door open for his son, who was staring at the floor even still, looking even worse-for-wear than before.

“Ryoma.” Xander regarded Shiro with a distasteful expression that made the boy want to curl up and sob. “Shiro. He’s ready for you.”

Shiro looked from Xander to Siegbert. His boyfriend was still avoiding eye contact with anyone. He glanced up at Shiro for a moment, but quickly looked away, his lip trembling as tears began to well up in his eyes.

Shiro felt a twinge of pity. This had been his idea; this was all his fault. Siegbert shouldn’t have to accept the brunt of this punishment.

He considered the outcomes. Siegbert had straight A’s, was an all-star student. He’d never gotten in trouble, was always polite and kind, had a bright, shining future ahead of him. This could ruin that forever. And what did Shiro have going for him? He was a low-rate student, a class clown, only good at goofing off.

The only thing he had in his future was Siegbert.

He closed his eyes as he walked into the principal’s office. To him, the answer was clear.

 

“Alright, Shiro.” Fuga leaned forwards, hands resting in front of him on his desk. “Tell me your story.”

“And be completely honest,” Ryoma demanded icily.

Shiro rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry, _Ryoma_. I’m already in trouble. I’m not going to make it even worse for myself.”

“Shiro, if you could please take this seriously.”

“I know, I know,” he sighed, “don’t worry, Fuga.” He leaned back in his chair, frowning. “Listen… I know that Siegbert probably tried to get you to punish him along with me. Most likely about how he just wanted to have some fun or something. But that’s a lie— it’s all my fault.”

Fuga lowered his eyebrows. “Oh? How so? I’d love to hear this.”

Shiro looked him in the eyes, determined to make Fuga believe him. “Listen. Siegbert didn’t skip just for the hell of it. And before you say it, yeah, I know. Language. But I’m serious. I went out to a show and Siegbert decided to skip class to come and get me so I wouldn’t get in trouble. He’s a bit stuffy and serious and no fun, but he’s a good egg.” Shiro looked down. “A good friend. So… please don’t suspend Siegbert for something that’s my fault. He doesn’t deserve to be punished for my bad decisions. I know you’re not going to just completely let him off the hook, I get that, but if anything— I’m the one who deserves it.”

Ryoma looked relatively unimpressed, but Fuga pondered this for a minute. “Hm…” he regarded his disobedient student with a monotonous gaze. “And you swear that this is the truth?”

Shiro met his gaze again, staring directly into his eyes, and, with more conviction than he’d ever exerted before, said, “I swear. Everything I’ve said is one hundred percent the truth.”

Fuga nodded slowly. “Alright, then. I’ll think on It for a bit, then call Siegbert and his father in.”

Shiro sat back down in his chair. He tried his best not to show it, but his heart was pounding, and he was shaking.

This had to go the way he wanted it to. It just had to.

 

***

 

Siegbert and his father sat awkwardly in the waiting room, neither of them having spoken for the past half-hour or so.

Xander had his arms crossed and eyes closed. Siegbert would occasionally sneak glances at his father, but Xander never once opened his eyes, nor did he speak. It was an awful feeling— there was very little he feared more than his father’s disapproval. This was a nightmare.

Eventually, the door to Fuga’s office opened, and the school’s principal called them back in. Siegbert stood nervously; he’d told the truth, but in doing so, he’d ensured he’d be punished. A suspension would tarnish his records forever. He’d fall behind in his classes. He’d miss out on so much in the absence he’d suffer if this punishment came to be.

Nevertheless, he composed himself enough to sit in his original spot next to Shiro as Fuga stepped out to speak to their fathers.

The two didn’t speak, but Shiro did take Siegbert’s hand, if only for a moment, stroking it reassuringly with his thumb before releasing it.

“Alright, boys,” Fuga announced as he walked back into the office, their fathers in tow. He took a seat behind his desk, and their fathers and their overwhelming presences sat on either side of them. Fuga pursed his lips, folding his hands. “We’ve come to a consensus. Both of you made incredibly stupid decisions today. Decisions that must have consequences. However… we’ve determined that only one of you is truly at fault.” Siegbert’s heart jumped as he turned to Shiro. “As Shiro here has so daringly admitted, it is by his fault alone that Siegbert purposefully missed his classes, and thus Siegbert will be let off with a week’s detention and a fair warning to never do this again.”

Siegbert stared, appalled, looking from Fuga to Shiro. “I… what?”

Shiro didn’t answer. He continued staring at their principal with hard eyes, seeming to have accepted his impending fate.

“Shiro. You broke many rules today, and not only that, dragged a fellow student into your mess. Thus, we’ve decided that a week’s suspension might straighten you out.”

Expression unchanging, Shiro nodded gravely. “I understand.”

“Wait— no!” Siegbert looked at Fuga with pleading eyes. “It was _my_ fault too! I deserve some of the blame. Don’t just punish Shiro.”

“Siegbert—” Fuga began as Shiro stood and walked out of his own accord, soon followed by Ryoma.

“No! Please, don’t—”

“ _Siegbert._ ”

He stopped as he felt his father’s strong hand on his shoulder and heard his firm voice. Siegbert turned, tears in his eyes, to face his father. Xander’s expressionless face stared down at him.

“Son. Let it go.”

“I…” Siegbert looked down. Shiro was already gone. He must have lied to get Siegbert out of trouble without outing them to their fathers and their principal. How could he have done something so stupid?

But Siegbert couldn’t say anything to unravel what Shiro had done without saying something that could hurt them both.

“…Okay, Father,” he said forlornly, looking away as he began to cry.

 

Xander hadn’t said anything else when they’d reunited with Siegbert’s mother on the school campus. They’d simply told Siegbert to go back to his dorm so that they could discuss things. He’d agreed without argument.

As soon as he reached his room, he didn’t bother to turn on the lights. He shuffled to his bed, letting his body fall onto it. He was so tired— his very body ached from all of the stress of the day. He rolled over, grabbing his pillow and hugging it close to his chest. He’d cried so much today, it seemed like his whole body had gone dry, because he couldn’t produce anymore tears. He shut his stinging eyes and let out a deep, shaky breath.

“Hey. Mind if I come in?”

Siegbert sat up immediately. “Sh-Shiro?!”

Shiro was leaning against the doorframe to their room. “Dad sent me up to get the last of my things. I was hoping you’d be here.” He spread his arms. “Happy to see me?”

Siegbert didn’t answer. Instead, he walked over and punched his boyfriend in the arm.

“Ow! Geez, Sieg!” Shiro grabbed his bicep “That… actually hurt. Whoa, dude. You’re getting strong.” He rubbed his arm, then stood up straight. “…And tall. You’re like, almost my height now. Weird, right?”

“This isn’t a joke! How could you take the fall for me?!” As he yelled this, Siegbert realized he’d been wrong. He could still cry; tears were beginning to roll down his face as he hugged his boyfriend.

Shiro sighed before wrapping his arms around his crying significant other. “I’m sorry, Sieggy, but I just couldn’t let you get in trouble for something like this. I’ll be fine— I’ve gotten in trouble like this before.”

“It was my fault too.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Shiro smiled. “Listen, Sieg. I can’t let you throw any chances you have of doing something great away just because of me.”

“But…” Siegbert buried his head in Shiro’s shoulder. “But I love you. I’m _in_ love with you.”

Shiro paused. Siegbert pursed his lips. Was this really the first time he had said it? Here, now, of all times and places?

“…I’m in love with you, too. That’s why I have to do this.” Shiro took Siegbert’s hand. “Hey. Chin up, okay?”

Siegbert sniffed, nodding.

“There, there.” Shiro glanced back outside the window. “My dad’s probably looking for me.” He turned back to Siegbert and smiled sadly. “How about a goodbye kiss then, huh?”

Siegbert had his lips on Shiro’s in an instant. He laced his fingers through Shiro’s hair, pulling him closer, before Shiro slowly drew away.

“I have to go now.” He placed a quick peck on Siegbert’s cheek before whispering into his ear, “ _I love you_.”

Siegbert watched despondently as his boyfriend turned and left, closing the door behind him.

 _It will only be a week, Siegbert,_ he assured himself. _Don’t worry. Just… don’t._

But between the feeling that he was wrong in let this go on, and the fear of what his father would think, as well as the desire to have Shiro close again… he wasn’t so sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why would I write something so sad? Lmao wait for the next chapter kiddos


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Siegbert has a talk with his parents about his punishment. It does not go in his favor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay there are very few instances where I will genuinely apologize for the pain I am about to cause people with my writing but I genuinely apologize for the pain I am about to cause you with my writing

“Siegbert, we’re here to talk about your punishment.”

Xander and Charlotte had stayed the night at Corrin’s house after they’d left the schoolgrounds. Now, they sat in Siegbert’s dorm, much emptier without Shiro there, though it had barely been a day since he left.

His father and mother sat side by side across from Siegbert, who was on his bed. Their son looked down dejectedly. “I understand.”

“Son, we are  _ very  _ disappointed in you,” Charlotte began. Siegbert knew she was talking in Xander’s stead because the latter was disappointed in him beyond words. “How could you do something like this? You’re a good boy. I just don’t understand…”

“Mother.”

Charlotte sighed. “I know, I know. You don’t want the same old crusty speeches that every parent gives.”

“It’s not that,” Siegbert admitted. “I’ll readily accept any punishment you give me. I deserve it, especially after receiving such a lenient punishment from the principal.”

Xander raised an eyebrow, finally deigning to speak. “Quite a bold statement, son. Though you were always mature for your age when it counted… usually.”

Siegbert laced his hands together, looking down at them. “Father, I know you’re disappointed in me. ‘Disappointed’ probably can’t even begin to describe it. And I thought long and hard last night about what I’d done. So…” Siegbert released a long sigh. “I want to apologize. I know my words are probably… hollow and mean nothing to you, but I did something stupid without considering how it would affect my grades, my standing, my image… your images.”

Charlotte glanced at Xander, who sighed. “Sieg, we don’t care about any of those things.”

“You… you don’t?”

“Of course not, sweetheart,” Charlotte assured him. “It wouldn’t matter if you weren’t top of your class and an outstanding citizen. All we care about is that you make good decisions that keep you safe. And when you do things like this out of the blue, it worries us. You’ve always been such a good boy, and you’ve never done anything like this before. So what are we supposed to think when we suddenly get a call from your school, saying that our son was caught skipping class?”

Siegbert looked down. “I understand, Mother.”

“I know, Siegbert.”

“Son,” Xander began, sitting up. Siegbert immediately started to listen intently, sitting up straight, preparing himself for whatever his father was about to say as he finally spoke. “I understand that you’ve never been in trouble like this before— or at all, really. I figure that the stress this has caused you is its own punishment. However,” he continued, voice growing firm, “that doesn’t excuse your actions. So, we’ve decided to instill a few new rules for the time being, until we’ve decided you’ve earned the right to be rid of them.”

Siegbert nodded. “That sounds reasonable.”

Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Ugh. How are we supposed to punish you if you’re taking this so well?”

Xander went on. “Firstly, I want you to put a full focus on your classes. You’re officially forbidden from leaving campus except for school- or family-related purposes. Secondly, you’ve lost our trust; thus, we’ll be confiscating your phone and personal computer. Your principal will keep an eye on them until we decide to give them back.”

Siegbert sighed. He deserved this. He could handle it, knowing that.

“Oh… and one last thing.”

“Yes, Father?”

His father closed his eyes. “I know that this isn’t completely Shiro’s fault, whatever he may have said to your principal to convince him otherwise. And I respect you for owning up to this, despite the fact that Shiro is still taking on the brunt of the punishment. But however much you think the blame should have been divided evenly, your mother and I… well, we talked about it, and we think that, seeing as you’ve never even thought about doing anything like this before… perhaps Ryoma’s son isn’t the best influence on you.”

Siegbert froze. “What… what are you saying?” he asked slowly, fearing that he knew  _ exactly _ what his father was going to say.

“I know you two are close. But we can’t have you fraternizing with people who drive you to make bad decisions. Thus, we think it’s best if you stopped hanging around him.”

“What?!” Siegbert stood up suddenly. “B-But that’s not fair!”

His father continued calmly as ever. “Siegbert. We only care about what’s best for you.”

“But this _isn’t_ best for me!” he argued. “Shiro’s my friend!”

“And what a great friend he’s been!” Xander remarked sarcastically, voice beginning to rise. “What happened to accepting any punishment we give you?”

“Preventing me from even talking to my friend isn’t a punishment! What about Shiro? You’re not  _ his  _ father!”

“But I  _ am  _ yours.”

Siegbert balled his fists. “If you know so much about what’s ‘good for me’, then—”

“Then this never would have happened, clearly!”

“Would both of you PLEASE  _ SHUT UP _ ?!” Charlotte screamed, effectively scaring the wits out of both of them. Siegbert and his father immediately started paying attention, because they were smart men who knew better than to ignore Charlotte when she spoke. “You’re both being  _ idiots,  _ gods! Xander, you can’t control who your son spends time with.” Xander grumbled and glanced away. She turned to her child with steely eyes. “And as for you, Sieg.”

Her son sat up straight as soon as she addressed him. He took no chances with his mother.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately. I know you have good intentions, but… skipping class? Disrespecting your father and talking back?” She sighed, putting her head in her hands. “I always counted myself lucky for having the best-behaved son out of all of my friends. I suppose there had to be a day when you reached your rebellious stage…”

Siegbert looked down. His mother  _ really  _ knew how to lay on the guilt. “I… I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say. I don’t  _ want  _ to burden you two with my mistakes. But… I can’t stop being friends with Shiro, and I won’t. I know you think he’s a bad influence on me, but… he’s been my friend since childhood, and honestly, I don’t think he could function without me. His relationship with his father is awful. His grades fluctuate without someone stable in his life there to help him. And I want to be that someone.”

“And why should he depend on you for that? You’re not his keeper. He’s almost an adult. The boy should wise up and mature on his own.”

Siegbert glanced away. “I know. But I’m going to stand by exactly what I said.”

Xander narrowed his eyes. Charlotte raised an eyebrow. Siegbert knew they wanted him to explain, but he didn’t know how to do that without outing himself, as well as Shiro, to them. He wanted to tell them, right then and there, why Shiro meant so much to him; why he would do anything for him, why he’d go against even their wishes to help him. A part of him hoped that they’d be accepting, and that they’d understand, telling him they’d love him no matter what, even support his relationship with Shiro. But another part feared the worst— that they would be furious. That his mother would cry and wonder why this had to happen to her family, her only son. His father would scream and yell at him. They’d force him to come home to Nohr so that they could keep him under lock and key, and he’d never be able to see Shiro again. That fear grew more the longer he thought about it, until it was the only outcome he could foresee, his hands shaking in fear.

Eventually, his father sighed, snapping him back into focus. “Well, Siegbert, I can see that we’re not going to get any further explanation out of you. But let me be clear: we are going to make sure that your time with Shiro is limited, at least until he proves to us that he’s a suitable friend for our son. Do I make myself clear?”

Siegbert wanted to tell them, in that very moment. But whenever he tried to say it, the words were choked out of his throat by that single, dominant fear.

_ They won’t love you anymore. _

He looked down, closing his eyes as the last bit of resistance left his body. “Yes, Father.”

“Good. Your mother and I are going to talk to your teachers about your punishment. I hope you enjoy being grounded, young man.”

 

Siegbert walked into Shigure and Asugi’s side of the suite. The two were sitting together in their desk chairs, reading and trying to pretend like they hadn’t been listening the entire time. Siegbert laid down on Asugi’s bed and hugged an oversized, candy heart-shaped pillow to his chest.

“Dude...” Asugi began, looking up at him. “Are you alright?”

Siegbert sniffed, burying his face in Asugi’s pillow. “What do  _ you  _ think?”

Shigure sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “I wish I could be more sympathetic, but… you  _ did  _ skip school.”

“I know.” Siegbert frowned. “But they just said I can’t be around Shiro anymore.”

“...Oh.”

“What?!” Asugi said suddenly, his lollipop almost falling out of his mouth. “Dude, I thought you were going to tell them!”

Siegbert covered his face. “I know. I was, but I just… when I looked into their eyes... couldn’t bring myself to.”

Asugi shook his head. “Sieg, bro. Are you just going to go along with it?”

Siegbert didn’t answer.

His friends glanced at each other. He knew what they were thinking.

Shigure spoke up. “Sieg… what do you think is going to happen?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are you going to break up?”

Siegbert clutched the pillow more tightly, until his knuckles turned white. “I—”

“Sieg,” his mother called from the entryway as the door to their dorm swung open. He jolted upright in surprise. Charlotte poked her head into Asugi and Shigure’s room. “Hon, come here for a bit before your father comes back.” She regarded the two other boys. “Could you two run along for a bit? I need to speak to my son. In private.”

The two stood up immediately. “You know what, I just remembered that we’re supposed to go out with Dwyer tonight,” Shigure stated.

“Uh…” Shigure nudged Asugi in the ribs. “Ow—! Oh, uh, right. Let’s go, babe.”

They both walked out, steering clear of Charlotte as she walked into Siegbert’s room, each shooting one last look at Siegbert. Asugi mouthed “ _ GOOD LUCK _ ” before exiting.

Siegbert stood and returned to his bedroom, stopping in front of Charlotte. “Mother.”

She frowned at him, crossing her arms. Though she was now shorter than he, she still intimidated the wits out of him. He could feel his hands shaking. He clasped them together in front of himself to get them to stop, waiting for his mother to speak.

Shaking her head, Charlotte sighed. “Your father’s talking to your teachers. They’re going to make sure that all of the rules we’ve made are enforced. Got it?”

His eyes fell to his shoes. “Yes, Mother.”

She screwed up her lips. “Sieg, why don’t you just tell us the truth?”

He looked up immediately, eyes widening. “What—”

“I know there’s more to it than you just going out to bring Shiro back to school. You skipped of your own accord.”

Siegbert looked back at the floor, digging the toe of his loafers into the carpet.

“Why won’t you tell us why, Siegbert?”

“You’d be angry with me if I told you,” he muttered.

“I’m already angry with you.”

Siegbert winced. With a single sentence, his mother had confirmed many of his fears.

Charlotte glared and crossed her arms. “Well, it looks as though I’m not going to get anything out of you.” She held out her hand. “Give me your phone.”

Reluctantly, Siegbert obliged. Instead of pocketing it as he’d expected, his mother pressed the power button, turning it on, and frowned at the lockscreen— a group picture of all of them at Nina’s party, where Shiro had his arm wrapped around Siegbert.

_ Shit. _

“Um, Mother—”

“What’s your password?”

He froze. “I… what?”

“If you’re not going to tell me anything, then I’ll figure it out for myself by going through your text history with Shiro, hm?”

_ Double shit. _

He promptly snatched the phone out of his mother’s hands, beginning to panic. “N-No!”

“Siegbert! What’s gotten into you?!”

There were a lot of personal messages he’d shared with Shiro that he didn’t want his parents seeing or finding out about. Especially not today. They were already so mad about him getting in trouble.

Charlotte glared, her fierce blue eyes piercing the depths of her son’s soul. If he’d thought she was angry before, she was  _ furious  _ now. “Young man, you have two seconds to give that back to me before—”

“Please, Mother,” he begged, voice breaking, “You can’t look through my phone. Do anything you want— take my laptop, ground me, request that I move rooms, but please…” He closed his eyes and sobbed. “ _ Please,  _ don’t go through my phone…”

“Read them.”

“Wh… what?”

“Read every text between yourself and Shiro from yesterday aloud to me, right now, or I swear that I will march you down to the principal’s office and make you read it to him.”

Siegbert began to shake. His mother was staring at him so intensely, he was afraid he’d crack under the pressure of her gaze. He knew he couldn’t argue this.

With quivering fingers, he unlocked his phone. Charlotte said nothing as he opened his messaging history, only watched with her steely gaze. Her silence was terrifying enough. She tapped her fingers impatiently on crossed arms.

Siegbert took a deep breath, scrolling up to the first correspondence of the day before.

“H-Hey, Siegbert,” he read, his voice racked with dread. “I’ve g-got the t-tickets. Are you r-ready?”

He scrolled down, reading each message, his anxiety rising with every text. Charlotte’s expression didn’t change as he read the messages in which he’d explicitly stated that he had himself orchestrated many of their activities that day— the meet-up, the show, calling in sick… and Shiro had gotten in trouble for all of it. Fallen tears had begun to dot the glass screen by the time he got to the part he was most dreading to read.

“A-Alright, Sieg,” he read, holding down sobs. “I-I’ll s-see you here. L-Love you, babe…” he gulped, closing his eyes, lids pressed together tightly. He was praying this nightmare would end. Maybe he’d pass out.

No such luck.

“S-See you l-later. I… I— I love… I l-love you t-t-too…” He covered his face, crying uncontrollably. “Mom, I’m so sorry, I’m so, so  _ sorry,  _ please don’t be mad—”

“Siegbert.”

“I- I wanted to t-tell you b-but I was afraid… Oh gods...” Siegbert sobbed. He suddenly felt light-headed and sick to his stomach. She knew now. The one thing he didn’t want her to find out, and she knew. “Pl-please don’t be mad…”

Charlotte didn’t yell. She didn’t start crying, and she didn’t get mad. Instead, she stepped forwards and hugged her son.

“M… Mom…?”

“Oh, Sieggy, baby,” she sighed. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“I… I thought you’d be mad,” he sniffed, burying his face in her hair. “If I told you I was… dating a guy…”

“Oh, honey…” Charlotte squeezed him so tightly he thought his ribs might crack. “I could never be mad at you for loving who you like. Hell, I’m not sure I can even be mad at you for skipping, now- that’d make me a hypocrite! Goodness knows  _ I  _ cut class for boys sometimes.” She laughed. “Guess you’re destined to be a man eater just like your mom, huh?”

“Oh my gods,  _ Mother _ ,” he chortled. “I wouldn’t put it like  _ that _ .”

“I know, I know.” Charlotte gripped his arms and looked him in the eyes, sighing. “Oh, Siegbert… you should’ve just told me.”

He sniffed, wiping his eyes. “I— I know. I just… I got so scared. I thought… I thought you’d be ashamed of me.”

Charlotte’s eyes filled with pity, and she took her son’s hands. “Sieg… don’t ever be ashamed of who you are.”  She put a gentle hand to his face, with a tenderness she only reserved for rare moments. “I’m your mother. I’ll love you no matter what— no matter what you do, no matter who you love.”

He smiled, letting out a deep breath. He felt like an immense weight had been lifted off his chest.

“Thank you, Mother.”

“Charlotte? Siegbert?”

Siegbert jumped, startled. He’d forgotten he had  _ two  _ parents— one of whom he’d rather not share his love life with,  _ especially  _ since his boyfriend had risen to the top of his father’s shit list.

“Please don’t tell Father,” Siegbert pleaded, turning about to his mother.

She frowned. His heart skipped a beat— she wouldn’t tell Xander, would she?

“Are you two in here—”

“AND I  _ DON’T  _ WANT TO HEAR ABOUT INCIDENTS LIKE THIS  _ EVER AGAIN _ , DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!” Charlotte yelled suddenly as Xander opened the door, releasing her son’s hands and putting them on her hips. Siegbert flinched. Even though he knew she was acting, his mother was still absolutely  _ terrifying _ .

Xander looked from his wife, who had put on her rage face, to his son, who still had tears streaming down his face. He grimaced. “Uh… you know what? I think I forgot to speak with one of Sieg’s teachers. I’ll just be doing that.”

He closed the door and exited the room. Charlotte smirked. “Heh. Smart man.”

“Thank you,” Siegbert breathed, clutching his chest. He’d been holding his breath, in fear that his mother would out him to his father.

“Sieggy…” Charlotte frowned at him. “I don’t think his reaction would be any different from mine.”

He looked down. “I don’t want to take any chances. Plus, he  _ hates  _ Shiro.”

“He doesn’t  _ hate  _ him. He’s just concerned that he’s a bad influence on you.” Charlotte crossed her arms, sighing. “Sometimes I wonder the same thing.”

Siegbert bit his lip.

“ _ But _ … I do believe you when you say you’ve been a positive influence on his life. And, because of that... I think I trust you enough to let you keep being around Shiro.”

His face lit up. “Really?”

“Don’t get me wrong, Sieg— I’m still  _ pissed  _ about this skipping business. And whether or not you’re allowed to continue being around Shiro is your father’s decision, too. Maybe you and Shiro should spend some time apart for a bit.”

Siegbert frowned. “But…” one look at her face showed him that arguing was futile. He sighed. “I suppose you’ve already been lenient enough…”

She patted his cheek. “That’s a good boy.” Charlotte paused for a bit, smiling. “Hey, c’mere.”

Siegbert and his mother wrapped their arms around each other. Charlotte rubbed his back reassuringly. “It’s going to be alright, Siegbert. I’ll try to convince your father to let you keep seeing Shiro. And I won’t tell him.”

“That’s all I can ask, Mother.”

“And listen. You can tell me anything, okay? I’m your mother. I’ll love you know matter what. Even if you screw up royally.”

He sniffed. He was starting to tear up again, but the knots in his stomach had gone away. “I… I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too, Siegbert. Don’t ever forget that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean... at least you have the reveal of Shiro's mother to look forward to on Thursday  
> (If you haven't already guessed it yet lmao, it's not that hard >_>)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro, grounded for the foreseeable future, decides to take a break from his dad by visiting his mom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been waiting for this chapter for so long!!! It's so sweet :^)  
> The big reveal is nigh, heheheheheh...

Throughout the entire train ride home to Shirasagi, Shiro got to hear his dear old dad’s hour-long lecture.

Then on the car ride back to their house, the windows went up, and he was subjected to a metric fuckton of yelling.

It was pretty much the same old spiel as whenever he did anything stupid— “do you WANT to be a disappointment to the family” and “do you EVER think anything through” with dashes of “what the HELL were you thinking”. This time, though, there was a lot of talk of how this was going to tarnish his record forever and what would his poor mother think.

Shiro had never rolled his eyes more in his life, but secretly, he was hurt by it. He’d never share it with anyone, but he hated when his father was disappointed in him. He didn’t know why—  he and Ryoma never got along; whenever Shiro was at home, they’d avoid each other; and whenever they talked, it always devolved into a fight. Sometimes they’d be friendly, but… it was never “father-and-son” friendly. It was more like Shiro was Ryoma’s annoying yet somewhat tolerable housemate rather than his child.

At least, even though he was at home, he didn’t have to see Ryoma all that much.

He was grounded to his room.

Shiro only left to get food, and when he did, he’d just eat it on his bed. He’d been deprived of his laptop, phone, and TV privileges, so he mostly slept, and when he couldn’t sleep, he’d study, knowing that it was what Siegbert would want him to do.

He thought about Siegbert a lot, actually. Shiro wondered how his boyfriend was doing— was he okay? Were his parents being hard on him?  He was probably really upset, especially since Shiro had taken the fall for him. It was too late to do anything about that, though; Shiro was here, and it was absolute torture.

The days felt like centuries, but he didn’t regret what he did for Siegbert.

Eventually, however, a day rolled around when Ryoma had to go out for the  _ entire  _ day. He yelled up the stairs at his son that he was leaving and to “refrain from doing anything stupid”. With that, Shiro heard the sound of the front door closing, and his dad was gone, leaving his son home alone.

Shiro got up immediately and put on fresh clothes, grabbing his wallet. He had somewhere to be today. He knew that his dad wouldn’t mind him sneaking out—   _ much _ —  when he learned where his son had gone.

It was early morning in Shirasagi— the dew was still on the grass, the air still a bit cold and foggy. He was glad he’d brought his hoodie. It may have been spring now, but winter still hadn’t released its grasp on the Hoshidan climate. He missed the warm Vallite weather of the Academy. Spring weather couldn’t get there soon enough.

“Hey, Shiro! Back from the academy?”

Shiro turned and smiled at the older woman, Reina— an old friend of his grandmother’s— who was waving to him on the street. Everyone in the city knew everyone in his family, and he was no exception; people on the street would always call out to him in a cheerful greeting ever since he was a young child, and he’d made it a point to learn the names of everyone who did. Luckily, nobody knew about his suspension, because his father made sure to keep it under wraps. “Just for the week, ma’am. But it’s nice to see you!”

“Where are you heading to this early in the morning?”

He pointed at the flower shop he was walking towards. “Getting flowers. I’m going to visit my mom.”

Reina nodded understandingly, a soft smile reaching her lips, dimples appearing at the corners of her mouth. “I see. Well, tell her I said hello!”

“Hahaha, I will. I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear from you!”

They waved “goodbye” at each other before going their separate ways, and Shiro entered the shop. There, it was no different; the shopkeeper greeted him by name, and gave him exactly what he always got, knowing where he was going from experience. He even tried to give Shiro the flowers for free, which he politely refused. He soon left the shop with his mother’s favorite flowers, the white-and-yellow ones from Cheve that he still didn’t know the name of, and a bit of incense that was supposed to smell like stars or something (though he highly doubted stars actually smelled like anything). Finally, he made his way through Shirasagi, saying hello to everyone he met until he reached the city limits, where a high hill was located. The very top was his destination.

His family was old, well-renowned in Hoshido; so, the top of the hill was reserved only for members of their family. Of course, none of them were really here. His “mother” was at home. But Shiro liked coming here. It felt more comforting than talking to her there.

He knelt in front of the gravestone that had been reserved for his parents. Their names were engraved side-by-side, Ryoma’s written in red to show that it was reserved for him. Shiro’s father said he didn’t like coming here because it reminded him of his own mortality; but Shiro came here whenever he could.

Laying his bouquet of flowers and the incense in their place, he took a lighter he’d snuck out of the house and ignited the sticks of incense he’d brought, and a sweet, heavy smell soon wafted through the air.

Shiro took a deep breathing, kneeling with his hands on his knees as he spoke. “Hey, Mom. It’s me.”

He smiled at where her name was written on the grave. Scarlet had been gone for many years, but whenever he was down or depressed, he came up here to visit. She’d always been his confidant, the person he’d go to and share everything with, who he was never afraid to talk to. When she died, he’d felt like his entire world had been ripped out from underneath him.

Wasting no words, he began to tell her everything that had happened since he’d last visited her, which had been months prior— at the beginning of winter break. He started with his classes, followed by soccer and his friends, and even told her about Siegbert—  something he’d never tell his father, but his mother would have been so proud and happy for him. She’d probably have made him bring Sieg home every other weekend, automatically adopting him as her honorary son.

She’d always been so happy for him, no matter what. Even when he messed up; even when he wasn’t doing so well in school; when he was happy, angry, sad, scared, anything at all, she was always there to comfort and guide him. She was a stark contrast to his relationship with his father. 

She’d died when he was seven years old, of an accident that none of the adults in his life would speak about.

Shiro missed her every single day.

“Oh… sorry about the whole suspension thing, too,” Shiro apologized, rubbing his neck and laughing softly. “Uh, it probably would’ve been only three days if Siegbert had gotten suspended too. But I think you’d be happy? Not about the suspension, obviously, but about stepping up. I just…” he sighed. “I couldn’t let Siegbert go through that. I feel like it’s my fault. It was all my idea. And something like getting suspended his Junior year would devastate him.” Shiro sighed. “But he’s amazing, Mom. He’ll be valedictorian if he keeps up with his studies. And… you know. Stops listening to me.” He chuckled. “He’s so great, Mom. I can’t wait to see him again. Maybe I’ll even bring him here one day to visit you. I just… I love him so much.” Shiro looked down. “You’ll love him, too.”

Their air began to feel a bit colder, biting at his face. He bit his lip. 

“Mom… do you think everything will be okay? I mean, I know you can’t answer. But sometimes… I feel like I have no one to turn to. Dad’s not going to listen. I don’t want to burden my friends. And Siegbert’s got his own stuff to deal with. I just… I can’t always be the funny, happy guy, y’know? And now I’ve got so much stuff that I can’t talk to anyone about. I can’t tell anyone about my relationship with Siegbert. I can’t talk about getting suspended. I can’t talk about being stuck here in Hoshido under house arrest. I can’t talk about how my dad makes me feel, I can’t talk… I can’t talk about  _ you _ …” 

Shiro’s voice cracked as he began to cry, unable to hold it in anymore. “Mom, I… I don’t know what to  _ do.  _ I miss you so much, Mom. I don’t know who to talk to or where to go. You’ve been gone for so long.” Shiro wrapped his arms around himself as he body was wracked with sobs. “I— I can’t  _ do  _ it. I wish you were h-here. You’d t-tell me what to do. You’d comfort me. M-Mom, what do I  _ do?” _

“Sh… Shiro?”

Shiro turned. Standing behind him was his Aunt Sakura, looking at him with concern on her face.

“A-Aunt Sakura!” He turned his head away and wiped his face with the sleeves of his hoodie, laughing nervously. “I—  I didn’t see you there! Uh, don’t mind me. Just… talkin’ to Mom.”

“Shiro, p-please look at me.”

He froze. How much of that did Sakura hear? How long had she been standing there?

“Shiro. Please?”

He let out a shaky sigh and turned, forcing a smile. “Haha, uh… how much of that did you…  _ hear? _ ”

“...Enough.”

That was the worst possible answer that he could have expected.

Sakura sighed, clasping her hands over her dress and looking down. “I get it. You don’t want to talk to me.”

“That’s not…”

“Shiro, you know it’s true. If you’d wanted to talk to me about the way you felt, you would have done it a long… a long time ago.”

He looked down. “I, uh… I’m sorry.”

Sakura pursed her lips.

“Um, I don’t want to be rude, but… why are you here?”

“I— I was taking flowers to your grandparents,” Sakura answered, extending an arm and motioning to where Shiro’s grandparents, Ikona and Sumeragi, and his step-grandmother Mikoto’s graves rested together. He silently cursed himself for forgetting that his aunts and uncles usually made weekly visits. He’d happened upon the  _ worst  _ day to vent everything aloud to his mother’s grave. “But that was a nice change of subject.”

Shiro rubbed his arm. It looked as though she wasn’t going to let him get out of this. Of course she wouldn’t. Aunt Sakura was always worrying; she wouldn’t want her nephew to leave after she’d heard that things were eating away at him without an outlet.

Fearing that if worse came to worse she’d tell his father, he decided to fess up.

“Alright... “ he sighed. “I’ll tell you.”

He repeated everything he’d just said— he didn’t hold back. He left out all of the parts that involved his relationship with Siegbert, though; he didn’t want to out him without his consent. 

He’d been worried that upon actually talking, he’d choke up and be unable to finish, but… owning up to all of his feeling was oddly cathartic. He may have had to wipe his eye a few times, but he didn’t wimp out.

Sakura listened patiently. She was good at that. He wondered why he’d never told her any of this before.

“...And that’s the story of how I got suspended,” Shiro sighed, rubbing his neck. “I, uh… feel a bit better now, actually.” He cracked a smile. “Thanks, Aunt Sakura.”

His aunt gave him her usual nervous grin. “Y-You’re welcome, Shiro.”

He sighed and pulled his legs up to his chest, resting his chin on his knees. “Feelings suck.”

She sat down next to him. “Yeah.”

Shiro looked up at the blue, cloudy skies. “Aunt Sakura?”

“Y-Yes, Shiro?”

“What… what do you think Mom would say, if she were here?”

Sakura paused. She had to think about that for a moment, he supposed. She probably wasn’t the expert on her deceased sister-in-law.

“...Well, I think she’d tell you that you care too much about what your father thinks,” Sakura began.

“What do you mean?”

“You a-always say you don’t care what he thinks, but… you always second guess yourself because of him and the image you think you have to uphold for our family. I—  I think Scarlet would want you to live your life without that burden.”

Shiro frowned. He guessed that was true, in a way. He thought about how Ryoma would react to all of his decisions—  whenever he turned in homework late, or skipped practice, even about dating Siegbert. He always imagined how furious his dad would be. And even though he always did it anyways… he could never shake that fear of his father, nor the reminder that he was a huge disappointment, out of his mind.

“Huh,” he muttered.

Sakura smiled. “I also think she'd be p-proud of you. Don’t forget that, okay?”

Shiro smiled. “Thanks, Aunt Sakura.” He reached over and hugged her. “I’m glad we had this talk.”

“M-Me too.”

“And uh… how much of that did you  _ really  _ hear?”

“Oh… w-well, I came in around the time you started crying.”

Shiro paused. So she still didn’t know about his relationship.

“Sh… Shiro? Why are you smiling…?”

“No reason,” he grinned. “No reason at all.”

 

“ _ Where  _ have you  _ been _ ?!”

Shiro held up a hand to his father as he walked through the front door. “Relax, I didn’t do anything. I only went to visit Mom. You can smell the incense in my jacket if you want proof.”

Ryoma, who had looked furious upon his son’s entry, paused, expression losing its ire. “Oh. I… see.”

Shiro shrugged. “I just wanted to talk to her.”

“Hm.” Ryoma crossed his arms. “You still shouldn’t have gone out without my permission.”

Had it been any other reason, Ryoma would’ve likely gotten violent. But the subject of his dead spouse always softened him up. Sometimes Shiro forgot that it wasn’t just him who was affected by his mother’s death—  Ryoma was a widower, and no matter how much Shiro claimed his father was incapable of love, he had cared for Scarlet deeply.

“Did you, uh… did you talk to her?” Ryoma asked, glancing away.

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to… talk to me?”

“Not really.”

His father pursed his lips. 

“Ryoma, look.” Shiro sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. “I get that you’re trying, but… you’re not Mom. And you’ll never  _ be  _ Mom.”

“I know.” Ryoma looked back up at Shiro. “Shiro, I want to be a better father to you than I have. I know a lot of your…” he frowned, searching for words. “...Outbursts and behaviors are tied to a lot of my failures as a parent.”

Shiro paused. “...I’m listening.”

“I just… I know I work a lot, and when I’m around, I haven’t always been the warmest father. And after your mother died… I never stepped up to change as a parent, when I should have. You deserved more than that. You went to her for everything. You were just a child; her death couldn’t have been easy on you.”

Shiro looked away. “No. It wasn’t.”

“Do you think there’s any… way we could fix it. This?” Ryoma asked, looking his son in the eyes. Shiro could see that his father’s eyes were almost pleading. Loathe as he was to admit it, his father seemed sincere.

“I… I dunno, maybe?” Shiro said, putting a hand to his neck. “Ryoma, I…” he paused. “Dad, listen. You’ve… hurt me. You yell at me and hide things from me and make me feel like a disappointment. If there’s any healing to be had… it’s gonna take a long time.”

“Yes. I— I understand.”

“But,” Shiro interrupted, “if we really are going to fix this… I guess we’ve both got to start somewhere. I guess that starts with you trusting me more, and me being more honest.”

Ryoma raised an eyebrow.

“I know, I know, being suspended is a bad time to ask you to trust me more, but here me out. I’m going to try to be more honest from now on— less secrets, less going behind your back. Okay?”

Ryoma pondered this for a moment, then said, “I think I can live with that.  And… I suppose I can be a bit more lenient.”

“So it’s settled. No more secrets.”

“Yes. Good.”

The two stood awkwardly in silence for a bit, unsure of what else to say.

“I’m… gonna go to my room, now,” Shiro said, taking off his coat. “’Cause, y’know… grounded.”

“Uh… wait.” Ryoma motioned to the living room. “There’s a soccer game today. Do you want to watch it with me?”

Shiro was surprised. He couldn’t remember the last time his father had  _ actually  _ invited him to watch something with him, let alone their mutually sacred game of soccer. He cracked a smile. “You know what? Sure, dad. Race you to the couch!”

The two immediately bolted into the living room. Although Ryoma was more experienced, Shiro had the power of youth on his side, and jumped over the back of the sofa, shouting, “Too slow, old man!”

“Ha, you cheated!” Ryoma laughed, locking his son in a headlock and giving him a rough noodie.

“Ack! Stop it!”

Shiro laughed as his dad released him, sitting on the couch himself, flipping the channel on the TV. He glanced at the shelf above the entertainment center, where the urn that held his mom’s ashes rested solemnly. He remembered one of the last times he’d spoken to her, on this very couch. He and his parents were watching soccer together, and he was sitting across their laps, his mother stroking his hair, smiling skeptically at his father, who was arguing that the Dawn Dragons were  _ clearly  _ going to be the Chevois Stars this time. In the end, they hadn’t, but they’d all cheered anyways. It was one of his last memories of his mother, and one of the last of happy times with his father.

Shiro smiled, breaking away from the memory before he could cry. He’d done that enough today.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Yes, son?”

“Does… this mean I’m not grounded anymore?”

Ryoma laughed heartily. “Ahahaha… no.”

“Aw…”

“But, hey. At least in a few days, you’ll be back in school. And out of my hair.”

“Dad, please. If I was ‘in your hair’ I’d need scissors to get out.”

“...Do you want to make that  _ two  _ months grounded?”

Shiro chuckled and rolled his eyes. Things had been rough, but… things seemed to be getting better with his dad, he felt better…

And soon, he’d get to see Siegbert again.

That was all he needed to hold onto to be happy again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you weren't expecting THAT  
> Lmao my friends and I call this chapter (and thus Shiro himself) "Shiro McDeadMom" and refer to the five-ish chapters straight of torment that we are currently in the middle of "Siegangst"


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro returns to school, only to discover some less-than-great news about the status of his relationship with Siegbert.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm uploading this today instead of Sunday bc I'm sad bc I had a long day and my favorite show B99 got canceled and my sisters hate me and I have a ton of undone homework and I can only make myself happy by reveling in the sadness of others
> 
> I'll just warn you... this is in my opinion by far the worst chapter in the Siegangst

“Bye, Dad. See you at spring break.”

“Hm-hm,” Ryoma mumbled as he waved Shiro off. He was annoyed today, likely at signing so much paperwork directly following Shiro’s suspension. “See you.”

Shiro rolled his eyes, but didn’t stop. He turned, running towards the residence hall with his bags in-hand. He could barely contain his excitement as he raced up the steps.

“Shiro!”

“KIRAGI!” He yelled, stopping to let his small cousin jump into his arms. “Heya, little bro!”

“Hello, Shiro,” Forrest greeted him, following Kiragi out of the hall. “Good to see you back.”

“We missed you!” Kiragi announced, wrapping his arms tightly around Shiro’s neck. “School was so boring without you. Nobody else wanted to give me piggyback rides or explain my homework to me.”

“Aw, little dude,” Shiro said, ruffling Kiragi’s hair, “I’m back now, so don’t worry about that, okay?”

Kiragi cracked a huge smile. “Okay!”

“Hope you don’t plan on getting in trouble like that again,” Forrest scoffed as Shiro let Kiragi back to the floor. “Our fathers have been lecturing us about how  _ we’d  _ better never get in trouble like that.”

“Ah, yes, I love setting an example for you guys. I’m sure Leo and Takumi are so proud.”

“Well, Takumi isn’t, at least!” Kiragi chirped.

“Uh... thanks?” Shiro shrugged. “Well, it’s good to be back, little bros, but I’ve got a boyfriend to catch up with, so.”

Kiragi and Forrest shared a look. It was not a good “look”. It was not a reassuring “look”. Nor was it a comforting “look”.

No, it was an  _ “uh-oh”, “oh no”, “should-we-tell-him?” _ sort of look.

“Uh… guys? What’s wrong?”

“Well, Sie—” Kiragi choked as Forrest elbowed him in the ribs. “Ow! Hey!”

“What he means is, you should… probably get up there already!” Forrest chuckled nervously, pushing the younger boy away. “Don’t the freshmen have a meeting today? You should get to that!”

“Yeah, but—”

“Go or I’ll donate all of your video games to Percy.”

“That’s not donating, he’s not even less fortunate than me!” Kiragi rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Seeya, Shiro!”

Shiro waved as his younger cousin ran down the stairs. Forrest clapped his hands together. “So! I have some. Things. To attend to.”  He pointed. “Down that hallway! So I’ll see you.  _ Later. _ ”

“Wait, but—”

“I can’t hear you, my footsteps are super loud!” Forrest yelled as he ran in the opposite direction.

Shiro frowned. Those two were being super weird, or at least he thought so.

Whatever. Not going to ruin his day.

He continued up the stairs to his floor, turning to his hall, and was absolutely delighted to see all of his roommates, talking in a group outside of the door to their room. Siegbert stepped away from Asugi and Shigure for a moment as he spoke, giving Shiro full view of him. He was smiling, laughing as something their orange-haired roommate had said, covering his mouth slightly with his hand, eyes closing as he laughed. His boy was still smiling.

Shiro grinned, running towards them. “Hey, guys! Siegbert!”

They turned towards them. Siegbert looked up, flushed face still beaming, and he caught Shiro’s eyes for a moment, filling him with elation he hadn’t felt since he’d gotten suspended.

Then Siegbert’s smile faltered and dissipated.

“Sorry, I have to go,” he mumbled to Asugi and Shigure, before turning down the hall and departing.

“Hey…” Shiro slowed to a halt in front of his two roommates. “Sieg?”

Siegbert didn’t turn around, nor acknowledge that he’d heard his boyfriend. Instead, he turned and ducked into the back stairwell, the door closing shut behind him with a thud before Shiro could even reach him.

“Uh—” he glanced back and forth at Shigure and Asugi, who were grimacing and avoiding his gaze. “What was  _ that  _ about?!”

Asugi glanced up, frowning deeply. “You didn’t hear, dude?”

“No, I’ve kind of been locked in my house in Hoshido for the past  _ week _ ,” Shiro scoffed. “Heard about  _ what _ ?”

“Shiro…” Shigure bit his lip. “Siegbert’s parents were  _ really  _ mad when he got in trouble. Especially when the found out that it was supposedly  _ your  _ fault.”

Shiro already didn’t like where this was going.

“Yeah… Xander and Charlotte got so pissed, they grounded him for a month. I think he worked things out with his mom somehow, but his dad…” Asugi shuddered. “I’ve never  _ seen  _ Xander that mad. Sieg got really depressed after that.”

“Oh. So, he’s mad at me?” Shiro sighed. “That’s understandable. I mean—”

“Well… that’s not it, actually,” Asugi muttered.

“Wait…” Shiro narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

Asugi and Shigure immediately found their own shoes very interesting.

“Shigure. Asugi. Why’s Siegbert avoiding me?”

The two shared a glance akin to the one Kiragi and Forrest had shared earlier.

“Xander… kinda… forbade Siegbert from seeing you.”

“Wait,  _ what?! _ ” Shiro snapped. “I— how?! He can’t prevent Siegbert from seeing me! We have classes together! We share a room! How are they even going to know?”

“They’ve asked the teachers to keep an eye on him. And you,” Shigure admitted. “Not to mention that Siegbert’s dropping all of the classes he’s taking with you and switching them.”

“But…”

“And he’s switching rooms. He won’t even be on the junior floor anymore.”

Shiro was appalled. He’d been off the grid, away from his friends and boyfriend for a week—  only to come back to this?

“I… but…” he put a hand to his head. “This… this can’t be happening. This can’t be real…”

“I wish there was more that we could do or say, but… it’s completely up to Siegbert at this point, and he seems to have made up his mind. He’s not going to disobey his father again.” Shigure frowned as Shiro gaped in disbelief. “I’m sorry, I really am, But Asugi and I have to meet up with Dwyer. You’re going to have to talk to Siegbert.”

With that, his two roommates headed towards the stairs, leaving Shiro alone with his thoughts.

A week since they’d last seen each other… and Siegbert hadn’t even spared him a passing glance.

 

Shiro couldn’t sleep his first night back.

He was too worried to allow any room for rest.

His mind raced with the memory of Siegbert ignoring him. Why? How long would this go on for?

He closed his eyes, trying to drown out his thoughts with even more, even worse thoughts, like how much reading he was going to catch up on, and how much homework he’d missed that he couldn’t make up now. God, his grades would suffer.

What would Siegbert think?

_ Bad thought, Shiro!  _ he chastised himself.  _ You’re supposed to NOT think about him! _

How about how he would catch up? He’d need a tutor.

What about Siegbert’s tutoring? Would that end too?

_ Noooooooo! _

Hisame could tutor him. He was a bit of a stickler for rules and kind of stuff…

But Siegbert had been too.

_ This is getting me absolutely nowhere. _

He sat up and tossed his pillow across the dark room, putting his head in his hands. This was so frustrating. He wanted to talk about how he was feeling, but his sole confidants were either dead or Siegbert.

_ DAMN IT! _

He’d punch his pillow, but he’d just thrown it against the wall. He slammed himself back-first onto his bed, arms crossed. Great. Now he was frustrated  _ and  _ pillow-less.

His turbulent emotions were soon interrupted as he heard the door to his dorm open. He could barely see, but he made out the shape that stepped in as Siegbert—  tall, curly hair, a tired-looking frame after a long day.

“Sieg?”

Siegbert froze, but then continued to his dresser, taking some clothes out.

“Hey, please… talk to me.”

His boyfriend turned and headed to the door.

“Sieg—”

Shiro was interrupted by Siegbert, though not to talk to him.

“Shigure, Asugi.”

“Ugh… what time is it?” Shigure moaned tiredly.

“Yeah, bro?” Asugi asked, no doubt still awake playing  _ Candy Crush  _ or some other game on his phone.

“I’m going to stay in Ignatius’s dorm tonight. Just thought I should let you know.”

Shiro was heartbroken. He had full confirmation— Siegbert was ignoring him.

He closed his eyes as the door closed. After he’d left his mom’s grave, he promised himself, no more crying.

He broke that promise.

 

The next two weeks went roughly the same. Anytime Shiro saw Siegbert, the latter wouldn’t even look at him. In class, he ignored him. The one time he tried to send him a note, Siegbert merely passed it onto Soleil, who sat next to him, without even  _ looking  _ at it.

Needless to say, Shiro was frustrated. 

But mostly hurt and confused.

“I don’t know what’s  _ wrong _ ,” he sighed as he complained to his friends at lunch. He’d barely touched his food, even though they were serving his favorite chicken. “Is he mad at me?”

Shigure shrugged. “I’m afraid we don’t know. He’s barely talked to any of us for the past few days. I’m concerned for him.”

“You should try stalking him to find out,” Rhajat suggested unhelpfully. “Have you tried going through his phone?”

“Rhajat, no offense, but I don’t think that will get me anything but a restraining order.”

Caeldori put a sympathetic hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Shiro, but I think Siegbert’s just working through some things right now.”

“Yeah, dude, his parents were  _ really  _ mad,” Asugi informed him. “Xander yelled a lot. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Siegbert cry that much.”

Shiro winced. He knew when they got in trouble that Sieg would be devastated by his parents’ anger, but every time he heard about it, it just seemed worse, and he hadn’t even been there to comfort him. Shiro put his head in his hands. “I just want to talk to him, even just for a minute…”

“I don’t know how long it will be until you can,” Shigure admitted. “I think Xander has the teachers watching Siegbert to ensure that the two of you don’t interact.”

Shiro groaned. “I don’t think it’s just that… even when there are no teachers around, he ignores me. Is he mad at me?”

“I don’t  _ think  _ so,” Asugi said. “Although honestly? It’s hard telling. He hasn’t exactly been too eager to talk about you for the past week.”

“Anytime we bring you up, he tells us he doesn’t want to talk about it,” Shigure admitted.

Shiro wanted to react to that, but he couldn’t think of anything to say.

He felt a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder. He looked up to see Caeldori’s face.

“We’re going to take our trays up,” she informed him. “Do you want to come with us?”

“...I’m good,” Shiro sighed. His friends gave him pitying glances, but he looked down at his food, pick around at it as they all got up and left him. He didn’t really feel like eating, but he didn’t want to get up either. He closed his eyes, trying to drown out his thoughts.

 

“Shiro, may I speak to you for a moment?”

Normally, this would be the point in which the rest of the baseball team would go  _ “Ooooooooh, Shiro’s in TROUBLE!”  _ in unison.

Now, everyone just looked at each other uncomfortably.

Coach Gunter stood watching the team as they socialized during their water break, his arms crossed, his gaze stern as ever. Shiro trudged over to him as the rest of the team watched.

Gunter extended an arm. “Walk with me.”

Shiro walked along next to his coach, his hands in the pockets of his letter jacket that he’d thrown over his practice uniform. He had it buttoned up to his throat, his chin stuffed into the collar so that it covered his mouth. He must have looked like a broody joth. Or a colorful, leather- and boiled-wool-bound turtle.

His stalwart coach cleared his throat once they were out of earshot of his teammates. “My boy, I’ve noticed that you’ve been… performing much more poorly over these past few days since you’ve arrived back at school.”

Shiro grunted, looking away. “Okay.”

“Hm.” Gunter scratched his chin. “Well, at first I thought it was just rustiness from being away for a week… then as the problem persisted, I was concerned that you were growing lax, or simply not giving two figs about the team, or your position as team captain.”

It figured. First his boyfriend was ignoring him, now Shiro was probably going to be kicked off the team. What a week this had been.

“Thus, I called a team meeting to see if your peers could give me some insight in regards to this recent change in behavior.”

Oh, shit.

“If I’m understanding correctly, apparently you’re having some relationship troubles?”

Well, this was officially a fucking nightmare.

“Look, Coach, I know you mean well,” Shiro began, pulling his head out of his jacket, “but I’m not really in the mood to talk about my love life right now.”

“I know that sharing your private life can be embarrassing— especially at such a rebellious young age— but I feel that this is an issue that affects not only you, but the entire team. In the locker room and outside of the field, that is a group of your peers— your friends, your enemies, your relatives, maybe even a love interest. I have no idea of knowing. But on the field, they are your teammates. You have to be willing to set aside external problems once you step onto it.”

“I can, coach.”

“I have no doubt in my mind of that. But not right now. You need some time off to think.”

“But—”

“But nothing. Your teammates themselves suggested it.”

Shiro stopped. “They… they did?”

Gunter nodded gravely. “Your teammates are genuinely worried for your wellbeing, Shiro. You’re not just a player to them— you’re their captain, and their friend. Your performance has an affect on everyone.”

Shiro bit his lip. “Do you really think so?”

“I don’t just think it, son.” The old coach put a weathered hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “But you need to sort out whatever is going on in your personal life before you can take it out on the field.”

“I…” Shiro sighed, looking down. “Coach, I did something stupid, and I might lose the person I care about most because of it. They won’t talk to me, they won’t even  _ look _ at me. And I… I don’t know what to  _ do.” _

“Hm.” Gunter stroked his chin. “Let me tell you something that I hope I can tell you in confidence.”

“Sure, coach.”

“I of all people know what it’s like to do bad things,” he said. “I’ve hurt people more than you can imagine. I’ve done things that have had terrible effects on my friends, my family… even my players, whether they know it or not.” He paused for a moment, then sighed. “But I can’t let that affect how I go about my every day. It took me a long time to learn how to separate that from my life on the field. You’re young. You still have time to figure it out. So for now, all I can ask you to do is take a break to sort things out.”

Shiro looked down. As much as he wanted to protest… Gunter was right. He couldn’t be a good team captain if he were moping about what was going on in his personal life.

“...Alright, coach,” he sighed. “I’ll take a break.”

“Thank you.” Gunter clapped him on the shoulder. “I know it doesn’t feel like it, but I assure you, it’s for the best.”

“Sure, coach.”

“Don’t worry, Shiro. This isn’t a permanent arrangement.”

Shiro looked down as they walked back towards the team. “Who will take my place while I’m suspended?”

Gunter scratched his chin. “I’d say that Miss Caeldori would be a good fit. You two are awfully close, are you not?”

“I mean, she’s one of my best friends.”

“There’s not any bad blood between you two, is there?”

“Uh…” Shiro raised an eyebrow. “Coach, do you think that Caeldori and I are dating? Because that’s. Really far off.”

“Hm… are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m one-hundred percent certain that Caeldori is  _ not  _ my girlfriend.”

“I see…” Gunter frowned, but then shrugged. “Well, go ahead and tell your teammates what will be going on.”

“Right.”

Shiro turned forlornly and made his way back to his teammates. In his absence, they had been playing their usual game of making fun of Caeldori by seeing who could find the most anagrams of her name.

“Riceload,” Asugi suggested, snapping his fingers.

“Really?” Caeldori sighed, raising an eyebrow.

“Acid role,” Soleil chimed.

“Orca deli.”

“Oral dice!”

“Guys, please.”

“Lead Rico.”

“Cedar oil.”

“It’s really not that funny.”

“Railcode.”

“Hey, team,” Shiro said, announcing his presence. Immediately, they all shut up and turned to look at him. “Listen. I know it’s hilarious to make fun of Caeldori— or as I like to call her, Coal Ride—”

“Seriously?!”

“—But I have some bad news.”

All of their eyes were on him, expectant. He sighed, rubbing his neck.

“So, I’ve obviously been having some relationship troubles recently,” he sighed. “And that’s been affecting how well I can do as your team captain. I’m sorry that I’ve let something from outside of the field affect my performance, but until I can get everything sorted out, Coach has decided I should take a little break. You need a captain who can be there for you when you need them, and I can’t be that right now.”

The team looked at each other awkwardly for a moment.

“If this is what you need to do,” Caeldori piped up, “then we should support you through it. You’re going through a hard enough time already.”

Everyone mumbled in agreement, nodding to themselves.

“Thanks, guys,” he breathed. “Your support means the world to me. While I’m going, Oiled car—”

“That one’s not even  _ good!” _

“—Will be your captain.” Shiro met her eyes. “If she wants to, that is.”

Caeldori’s eyes widened, appalled, but she nodded. “If that’s what’s needed, then I’ll do it.”

He smiled. “Thank you.” He turned back, regarding all of them. “Don’t worry. This is is only temporary.” He hoped it was, anyways. There was always a possibility that things between him and Siegbert would never get worked out. Then what?

He didn’t want to think about that.

 

As Shiro walked away from practice, he saw Caeldori talking to Sophie off the field. When the former saw Shiro, she said something in an aside to the latter, hugged her, and then walked in his direction. Her eyebrows were furrowed, a firm expression on her face.

Uh-oh.

“Okay, Cael,” he began, putting his hands up, “listen, I know you’re probably upset about me dumping the whole captain thing on you, but I swear it wasn’t my idea—”

Instead of chewing him out, or punching him, Caeldori walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him.

Shiro frowned. “Uh… Cael?”

“I’m sorry, Shiro,” she said, squeezing him reassuringly. “I really hope everything works out for you. But until then, I want you to know that you have friends who care about you. We’re here for you, whatever you need.”

Shiro had to stop himself before his eyes welled up with tears. He reciprocated her embrace, glad to have someone there for him. “...Thanks, Road lice.”

She laughed. “Gods, if I didn’t feel sorry for you, I’d kill you right now.”

“Whatever you say, Cordelia.”

“That one’s not even funny, that’s just an actual name.”

The two friends hugged for a minute, and Caeldori told Shiro that she was about to go on a date, but if he wanted to come, he certainly could. He politely declined, saying he wanted some time to himself.

As she walked away, he felt alone once again, but… he was glad his team had his back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is coming soon... I won't leave you with _that_ for three days lmao


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Siegbert is faced with a difficult decision that leads to even more difficult conversations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you it would be out soon :^P  
> I was feeling better but I'm in a bad mood again so this time I'm going to drown it out by replacing my anger with fear by watching horror movies. Good plan, right?  
> Also... LMAO I can't write passionate kissing to save my life so don't blame me if any kiss scenes ain't quality

Siegbert glared into the darkness as he stumbled around. “Asugi, I’m going to  _ kill  _ you.”

His suitemate had run off with his bag earlier in the day, and although he had his homework done, his laptop was in there, and he’d  _ just  _ gotten that back to use for strictly scholastic purposes. He wasn’t about to get in trouble  _ again  _ for losing the computer his parents had bought for him. This would be a lot easier if he had his phone and its flashlight, but unfortunately that was sitting somewhere at the bottom of Principal Fuga’s desk drawer.

However, he soon saw the straps of his laptop bag sticking out of a bush that lined the far side of the residence building. He silently cheered, creeping over to it to pull it out of the shrubbery’s thick foliage. However, one tug on the straps didn’t quite do the trick. Something was weighing it down.

“Ungh, come  _ on _ ,” Siegbert groaned, planting his feet more firmly in the ground. Curse his weak nerd arms.

Finally he managed to pull it— as well as what was weighing it down—  out of the branches of the growth, falling onto his rear in the process. He picked up his bag—  yes, it was definitely his, it had his name on it. However, another laptop bag’s straps were wrapped around his. He frowned, checking the name tag attached to it.

“Ah… shit,” Siegbert mumbled. He was holding Shiro’s bag.

He was absolutely going to murder Asugi.

He weighed his options. Certainly, Ignatius’s dorm— where he was currently staying— was closer, so he could easily go to sleep and ask someone else to return it the following day. But Shiro likely had morning practice, meaning Siegbert likely couldn’t get to him early enough, and he wouldn’t have it for his first period class. Siegbert could take it to his teacher… no, that would take too long. His first class was on the other side of the campus.

Well… he supposed the only thing he really  _ could  _ do was return it to him directly.

Siegbert closed his eyes. He knew that if he went, conversation would be struck up, and he wasn’t quite ready to talk. He  _ had  _ wanted an opportunity to talk to Shiro, but did he want it so soon?

It didn’t matter. He stood up, picking up both cases and walking towards the building’s entrance.

 

When he entered their suite, nobody seemed to notice. Asugi and Shigure were fast asleep in their room. When Siegbert reached his door, he hesitated. He hadn’t been in the room in days; he returned occasionally when he needed something such as clothes. He’d always made sure Shiro wasn’t there when he was, too. Siegbert licked his lips, decided that there was no going back now, and opened the door.

Shiro didn’t hear him enter. The other boy was busy, searching their room for something, muttering, “ _ Come on, come on… _ ” under his breath.

“Where  _ is  _ it?” Shiro murmured dejectedly. “I swear, just when I thought today couldn’t get any worse…”

“Sh… Shiro?”

Siegbert’s roommate froze. Then, slowly, he turned around. Siegbert froze as Shiro regarded him.

“Sieg,” he noted.

Shiro looked awful— much worse than Siegbert had ever seen him. He looked extraordinarily fatigued, with faint bags under red-tinted eyes that looked dry from crying. Siegbert instantly felt a twinge of guilt at the sight.

_ This is your fault.  _ He could hear that voice in the back of his mind, again, telling him what he’d told himself a thousand times over.  _ You’re doing this to him. You’re hurting him. All you do is hurt him. _

Shiro glanced down at the case in Siegbert’s hands. “You found my laptop.”

Siegbert snapped to attention. “Uh— yes. It was in the bushes.”

Closing his eyes and sighing, Shiro mumbled, “I’m too tired to even begin to fathom  _ why  _ it was out there.”

Siegbert felt his breath hitch and Shiro stepped closer, standing in front of him. It had been over a week since they’d been this close, but it felt like so much more time to him now. He could feel how warm and familiar Shiro was, even if they weren’t touching.

Shiro grabbed his bag, looked up, and offered a slow, simple, “Thanks.” before returning to their room, stepping away from Siegbert once more.

His heart clenched up. That was it? No request for an explanation, no anger, no… anything?

Shiro seemed to detect his roommate’s distress, as he turned around and asked, “Are you going back to your friends’ room tonight?”

“I…” Siegbert wrapped his arms around himself, looking away. “Yeah. I think so.”

“Hm.” He returned to what he was doing and set his case between his desk and bed before sitting on the latter himself.

“Um— Shiro,” Siegbert blurted, before he could really think about what he was actually going to say.

“Yeah?”

He faltered, blushing. Shiro’s eyes were on him now, watching him intently. There was no dismissing this as a simple impulse that he’d lost control of.

Siegbert sighed, scratching the back of his head. “Do you… uh… want to talk?”

A pause.

“Yeah, I do.”

Siegbert looked down. He didn’t expect to get this far. “Oh.”

“It’s okay if you don’t actually want to.” Shiro looked at the floor. “I get if you still want to spend time apart, or if you need more—”

“N-No!” Siegbert interrupted. “That’s not it. I…” he shut his eyes tight. He had to get this out. “I know I’ve been… avoiding you. But I… I don’t want to anymore.”

“I know why you have. I understand. Your parents think I’m a bad influence on you, and they don’t want us around each other.”

“That’s… not…” Siegbert sighed, eyes stinging. Of course that would be what Shiro had heard. He hadn’t told  _ anyone  _ his biggest reason.

“Siegbert, are you alright?” Shiro asked.

“My… my mom found out,” Siegbert sobbed, tears starting to flow down his face. Shiro’s eyes widened. “After you left for Shirasagi, she— she wanted to go through my phone. She knows about all of it— us, our relationship, why we skipped. I didn’t want her to find out that way, but I… I’m so sorry.”

Shiro looked incredibly surprised, regarding Siegbert with eyes that held a strange expression. Siegbert glanced away, fearing the worst. Shiro would get mad. He’d be upset that Charlotte found out without him knowing, when they’d  _ promised  _ each other that they’d keep it secret. This was what he’d been afraid of— anger, rejection, and the promises he’d broken, whether he’d done it willingly or not.

“I didn’t want to hurt you,” Siegbert whispered, eyes trained intently on the floor, “and I know I d-did. I’m so s-sorry. It was selfish of me. I—  I should have fought back. I should have told me parents I wouldn’t stop being around you, I shouldn’t have let my mom find out, I— ”

“Sieg.”

Siegbert looked up as Shiro stood from his bed. Gods, he wished he weren’t so weak. He was already shaking and crying like a baby, and he’d barely spoken for a few minutes.

“I understand if you’re angry,” he managed.

“I’m not angry. Gods, why would I be angry?” Shiro grimaced, his expression distraught and upset. Siegbert winced. “If you’d just said something, I…” he pursed his lips. “Did you think I’d be mad at  _ you _ ? Sieg, none of this is your fault.”

“But— ”

“Did we get in trouble? Yeah. Is that  _ only  _ your fault? No. You shouldn’t blame yourself.” Shiro stepped forwards. Siegbert’s heart started beating faster again as he was only inches away from the person he’d wanted to be closest to this whole time. He paused as Shiro took his hands. “Sieg, you’re too hard on yourself. Your mom finding out about us? That’s no big deal. I can live with that. But you, beating yourself up over it, not talking to me because you feel like you betrayed me? If our relationship ended because of something like that… I could never live with it.”

Siegbert looked up into Shiro’s deep, grey eyes, full of moisture. He’d never seen Shiro cry before, but now he didn’t even bother to wipe his tears away.

“Shiro, I’m so sorry,” Siegbert whispered, putting a hand to his boyfriend’s face.

Shiro pursed his lips. “While I was in Hoshido, I… visited my mom.”

“You… oh.” Siegbert knew how close Shiro was to his mother before she died when he was a child. He still visited her grave, sometimes, to “talk” to her. Siegbert didn’t know what he would do with himself if  _ his  _ mother were ever taken from him. He wasn’t sure how Shiro dealt with it—  or how he pretended to, at the very least.

“I wanted to talk to her and get some…  _ things  _ off my chest.” Shiro shut his eyes, face growing hot beneath Siegbert’s palm. “And when I did, I had some time to think about things.”

“Like what?”

“Like us.” Shiro reached out, putting his arms around Siegbert and pulling him close. “Siegbert, I don’t ever want to lose you. You’re so,  _ so  _ important to me. I want to be the person you can turn to if you need something; and I have to do the same for you.”

“I know,” Siegbert answered. He laced his hands in Shiro’s hair. “I feel the same way. I want to be there for you, but you deserve…”

“No ‘but you deserve better than me’,” Shiro said. He pressed his forehead to Siegbert’s. “You  _ are  _ here for me. Since my mom died, you’re the first person I’ve had who I can tell  _ anything  _ or trust with my entire life. And I’ve told you before, haven’t I? I love you for you. You don’t ever need to change who you are, Sieg. I know you may not love yourself the way I do, but please… don’t say things like that about yourself.”

Siegbert sniffed. “I’m sorry for ignoring you.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s  _ not.”  _ Siegbert’s body was wracked with tremors as he began to sob, bursting into tears again.

“Oh, gods. Sieg—”

“I— I should have stood up to m-my f-f-father more,” Siegbert wept, wiping his eyes of the deluge of tears that never seemed to cease. “I sh-should have said n-no, or g-gone behind his b-back, or— or—”

“Siegbert—”

“I sh-shouldn’t have—”

“Siegbert!”

Siegbert wailed, surging forwards into Shiro’s arms.”Shiro, I’m s-so  _ sorry. _ ”

Shiro was taken aback, but he slowly put his hands around his boyfriend. “I know. It’s okay.”

“No it’s  _ n-not,” _ Siegbert said between gasping sobs, clutching at the fabric of the back of Shiro’s shirt. “You’re my  _ boyfriend.  _ I’m supposed to  _ care _ about you.”

“You do care about me.”

“But I ignored you for  _ weeks _ . I made you think I…”

“You… what?”

Siegbert sniffed, leaning down to rest his head against Shiro’s shoulder. “That I didn’t love you anymore…”

Siegbert’s heart was pounding in his chest as Shiro was silent. This was definitely it. All the yelling, the screaming and crying he’d been fearing was coming. All of his fears would be confirmed, worst would come to worst yet again.

Shiro stepped back, releasing Siegbert, who closed his eyes as he looked down in shame. Here it was. Shiro would break up with him, like he deserved.

Instead, however, Shiro took his hands, looking him in the eyes with his own, mist and grey.

“Sieg…” Shiro began, his voice heavy with concern, “did you think I didn’t love you anymore?”

“I…” Siegbert released one of Shiro’s hands to wipe his tears away. “N-No, but…”

“But what?” Shiro put a hand to Siegbert’s face, warm and comfortingly tender.

Siegbert’s shoulders slumped. “How… how can you still love me? After what I did… what I put you through...”

“Siegbert…” Shiro stepped forwards, eliminating the space between their bodies. He leaned forwards, until their faces were inches apart; until Siegbert was sure Shiro could feel the warm blush that was overtaking his face.

“Sh-Shiro?” Siegbert stammered, his heart beating out of his chest, fearing yet hoping for what would come next.

“I promise… I will  _ never _ stop loving you,” Shiro said, leaning forwards and kissing his boyfriend.

Siegbert was frozen— in time, in place, in this moment. He could barely process it. 

Shiro was here. He forgave him.

Shiro was here. He loved him.

Shiro was here… kissing him.

Siegbert closed his eyes and kissed him back, putting his hands in Shiro’s hair and leaning forwards.

Shiro moaned. “Siegbert—”

Siegbert took advantage of Shiro’s open mouth to kiss him harder. He’d wanted to do this for all the weeks that they’d been apart; it felt like a million years and more since their lips had last touched, or he’d felt Shiro’s warmth so close.

“No, Sieg, I’m about to—”

Shiro didn’t have time to finish before Siegbert leaned too far, causing both of them to topple to the floor, Siegbert landing on top of his less fortunate boyfriend.

“ACK,” Shiro groaned as Siegbert slammed against him.

“Oh— oh my gods,” Siegbert gasped, blushing fervently. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

His boyfriend wheezed, struggling to lean up on his elbows with Siegbert on top of him. “I’m fine. You?”

“Fine.”

The two paused, looking each other in the eye.

It didn’t take long for them to burst into laughter.

Shiro wiped Siegbert’s tears from his face with his sleeves. “Gods, I missed you.”

Siegbert sniffed, grabbing his boyfriend’s hands. “I missed you too.”

“And I’m sorry for leaving you alone here.”

Siegbert sighed. “That wasn’t your fault. I may not like it, but you were trying to protect me. I promise I’m grateful, even if I’m a little bit mad. You did what you thought you had to do.”

“And you did, too.”

“But—”

“No ‘buts’. I know how much you care about what your father thinks, and I know you must have been devastated when your mom found out. But you know?” Shiro smiled, squeezing Siegbert’s cheeks. “I don’t care. I mean, I do, but I don’t mind. I know that you coming out didn’t happen the way you wanted it to, and I can’t  _ imagine  _ that. But it’s okay. It’s not going to be the end of the world, or of our relationship. We’ll work through all of this. Together.”

Siegbert thought for a moment, considering his boyfriend’s words of comfort, then pursed his lips. “I… I don’t want to keep doing this.”

Shiro’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

“ _ This.  _ Going behind everyone’s backs, keeping our relationship secret, stressing out about our parents finding out… I want it to end. It’s so frustrating, and it’s just causing more trouble than we need. I’m tired of it, Shiro.”

“So, you’re saying…”

“We should tell our parents. Not just them, either—  _ everyone. _ ”

His boyfriend seemed surprised at first, but he soon nodded eagerly. “I agree.”

“So, the next time we’re all together—”

“Uncle Corrin’s house, spring break?”

“Yeah. We’ll stand up in front of everyone and tell them. No more hiding, no more secrets.”

“Siegbert, that’s great, but… are you sure?”

“I am,” he answered firmly. He regarded Shiro concernedly. “Are you?”

“I…” Shiro smiled. “Yeah. I think it’s time.”

“Then it’s settled.” Siegbert sat up, sitting on Shiro’s legs. “You know, just thinking about it… it’s terrifying.”

“Yeah.” Shiro gripped his boyfriend in a reassuring hug. “But we’ll get through it. Together.”

In Shiro’s arms, Siegbert didn’t feel as alone as he had in the past week or so. He felt safer, more comfortable than he had in a long time. He smiled, exhaling with relief.

“Shiro?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you, so much.”

“I love you too.”

 

***

 

“Ew,” Asugi said, poking at his food with the tip of his fork, “is this really what they’re serving us at school these days?”

“It’s disgusting,” Dwyer agreed.

“We can cook better than this.”

“Agreed.”

“You two will have to cook for me sometime,” Shigure chuckled. “I’m sick of this food.”

“Come to my house sometime and we’ll show you what real food is,” Dwyer said.

“Shhh!” Soleil said, putting a finger to her lips. “Here comes Shiro.”

Everyone at the table grew silent as Shiro approached.

“Hey, guys,” he said, setting his tray on the table.

They all glanced at each other.

“...Hey,” Asugi said.

“How’re you feeling, bud?”

“Huh?” Shiro said, mouth full of chicken.

“We’ll give you a minute,” Shigure sighed.

“Mmm.” Shiro wiped his mouth off. “I’m good.”

There was a pause.

“...Are you sure?” Caeldori asked.

“Uh, yeah?”

“There’s… nothing you want to talk about.”

Shiro thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Nope.”

They all began to whisper amongst another, wondering what was going on, when Siegbert ran up to their lunch table.

“Gah, sorry I’m late,” he said, setting his tray down next to Shiro. “My language course ran a little over.”

“Hey, babe!” Shiro greeted him.

“Hello, darling,” Siegbert responded, leaning down to give Shiro a quick kiss on the lips as he sat down and began to eat.

Their friends stared at them.

“Fuck yeah!” Asugi shouted, throwing his hands in the air.

“You guys made up?” Caeldori asked, propping her elbows up on the table and resting her chin on her hands, a wide smile coming to her face.

“Yep,” Siegbert said, taking Shiro’s hands. “We talked it out last night.”

“We’re back together indefinitely—”

“—And I am no longer switching rooms,” Siegbert announced happily. “Which is a good thing. Ignatius is scared of the dark and I can’t sleep with the lights on, and Dwyer stays up  _ way  _ too late doing ridiculous things.”

“Fuck off,” Dwyer mumbled, “let me listen to the Death Note soundtrack at top volume at at 3am in peace.”

“You are  _ not  _ doing that when you and Asugi come stay at my house over spring break,” Shigure stated.

“Well, it appears that Operation ShiroSieg was a success. All according to keikaku,” Asugi said proudly.

“What did you even do?” Shigure asked.

“I did what I do best.”

“He stole our things,” Siegbert said.

“Because he’s a motherfucker.”

“I’d say I’m more of a ‘matchmaker’,” Asugi informed them. “I couldn’t let my best friend and Siegbert—”

“Hey!”

“—Suffer for any longer. So I did the rational thing and stole their shit.”

“Truly, you are a great friend,” Shigure said, deadpan.

“I like to think of myself as a ride or die bitch.”

“Asugi, please.”

“So you two are back together, huh?” Soleil asked.

“Yep.” Shiro pressed his forehead to Siegbert’s. “And we’re going to stay that way.”

“Awww,” Caeldori said, putting her hands on her heart. “I’m so happy for both of you. I always knew that you’d work it out.”

“Thanks, Cael,” Shiro said, smiling at her.

“You know, now that this is all sorted out,” she began, “I might consider giving up my position as interim team captain...”

“Really?” Shiro asked, ees widening. “But I thought Captain Riceload had a nice ring to it…”

“I’ll actually hurt you, Shiro. But that aside… I don’t think leadership suits me.” Caeldori smiled. “Besides, I’d be happy work under my best friend… Sir ho.”

“I appreciate the effort, Caeldori, but that wasn’t that sick of a burn.”

“Damn it…”

Siegbert turned to his boyfriend. “Well, Shiro, do you think you’re ready to play ball?”

“Hm, I don’t know, Sieggles,” Shiro answered. “Are you ready to watch me run around in tight pants and high socks?”

“Please don’t ask me to answer that question in front of all of our friends while they’re eating lunch.”

Everyone laughed, and Shiro squeezing Siegbert’s hand lovingly. It had been a long few weeks, but now that they were back together, they seemed stronger than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My friend Nelly calls the part where Siegbert falls on Shiro "Siegbert tries (and fails) to be a top"  
> Also, I'm both happy and sad to announce that there are only three more chapters of _Something Just Like This!_ I'll be updating all three between now and May 28th, because I have a surprise planned for then, because it's Sieg's birthday :^) It's been fun; thank all of you for coming this far! I appreciate all of your views, comments, and kudos over these 13 or so months, heheheh  
>  Also also, this is the last chapter of the Siegangst! Not to say that there won't be more, unrelated angst, however...


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Siegbert goes home for spring break, but the pressure of telling his family about his relationship with Shiro begins to make him question what to do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhhh, I'm excited! This is my favorite chapter~  
> Why? Well... you'll see... heeheeheehee...  
> Worried? Based on prior experience with my writing you probably should be! But in regards to this chapter? Well...  
> (Also if you've read my fic Leaves Turn to Flowers [which I wouldn't suggest], you might catch a reference to it in here :^O)

“Mother! Father!” Siegbert called as he stepped into the train station’s main hub. His parents were standing in the station waiting for him, Xander holding up a sign that said “ _ Siegbert _ ” across it in large, glittery letters (no doubt made by his wife), while Charlotte stood waving, shouting, “Sieg! We’re over here!”

Siegbert laughed, running off the platform into her arms. “Mother!”

“Oh, Sieggy, baby, we’ve missed you  _ sooooo  _ much,” Charlotte gushed, hugging him so tightly he felt as though his ribs would break.

“Mother—  I can’t  _ breathe _ — ”

“Oh, sorry,” she said, releasing him before putting her hands to his face and looking him in the eyes, smiling. “Oh, baby boy, look how much you’ve grown.”

He laughed. “Mother, it hasn’t been that long.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Ah, yes. Last time we saw you, you almost got suspended. And how has the month since you got in trouble treated you?”

“Let’s not talk about that now, dear,” Xander said, smiling as he put a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Siegbert just got back—  I’m sure the last thing he wants to hear about is his grounding.”

Siegbert nodded in agreement. “I’m so happy to see you both,” he said, clasping his mother’s hands in his own. “Gods, I have so much to tell you about!”

“Well, then,” his father chuckled, “why don’t we go back to the house? You can start while we’re on the way home.”

“Okay!”

Siegbert grabbed the handle of his suitcase and followed his parents out of the train station, to his father’s car. As Xander pulled out into the streets of Windmire, Siegbert began to talk about his time at school.

“Student council is so much fun,” Siegbert admitted. “They think that next year, I have a good shot at student body president.”

“That’s great, Sieg. I was class president in my day.” Xander smiled at his son in the rearview mirror. “Following in your old man’s footsteps, eh?”

Siegbert grinned. “I couldn’t find a better person’s shoes to fill.”

“Hey!”

“Uh, no offense, Mom.”

“Heheh, don’t worry, Sieg; I don’t think you’d like the things I was interested in during high school.”

“Weren’t you captain of the lady’s wrestling team?”

“Yep. Me and the boy’s captain were the national champions!” Charlotte laughed. “You know him, Sieg; that’s your friend Ignatius’s dad.”

“Oh yeah.” Siegbert sometimes forgot that Benny and his mother were old friends.

“I miss Benny sometimes. We enlisted together, you know? But we barely get together to just  _ talk  _ anymore since our army days,” Charlotte sighed. She glanced back at her son. “But enough about us! What else have you been doing? What about your friends?”

“Oh, well, we’ve all started a few clubs at school. Me, Nina, Ophelia, Caeldori, and Hisame have a weekly book club that others are starting to join. Dwyer and Mitama have a nap club. Not sure how that’s going. Oh, and the school play went really well! I’m sad you guys missed it, though.”

“I’m sorry about that, Sieg.”

“It’s alright, Father, I know you’re busy. But I just know you’ll make it to the next one.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Xander agreed.

“Oh, and I started managing baseball.”

“Really?” His father chuckled. “What on Earth made you interested in baseball?”

“A lot of my friends are on the team,” he explained. “I figured I could spend more time with them and get work done.”

His parents seemed to buy it. Nina hadn’t. She’d accused him of doing it as an excuse to watch Shiro run around in tight pants. He’d neither confirm nor deny the merit to her claims. It was only part of the reason.

“So, Sieg, speaking of your friends... how’s  _ Shiro _ ?” Charlotte asked, a playful tone to her voice. Siegbert shot his mother a glare. She supplied him with a mischievous smile.

“Yes, how is he?” Xander asked, completely oblivious. “I haven’t heard a thing about your roommate since he sent me that letter.”

“Letter?”

“Oh, yes. You didn’t hear about that?” Xander stared out the window of the car intently. “It was a few weeks ago, about a week after his suspension ended, I believe. It was surprisingly well-versed.”

Siegbert’s heart began to beat a bit faster. “U-Um… what exactly did this letter entail?”

“Oh, don’t worry; it was nothing bad. In fact, it was an apology letter. I believe the gist of it was apologizing for getting you into trouble and asking that he could remain your roommate and friend on the condition that he would try to become better-behaved.” He sighed. “You know, I think Ryoma’s a bit too harsh on that boy, and that may be why he acts out. He may be a bit rambunctious, but I think you were right, Sieg. Deep down, he seems like a good egg.”

Siegbert smiled with relief. “I told you, father. He’s a good friend.”

Xander laughed. “I guess I doubted you, Sieg, although given the circumstances, I think my doubt was well-placed.”

“Haha, well… I suppose I can’t argue with that.”

“See? What did I tell you when we went home, sweetheart? Siegbert can figure out what he wants for himself.”

Charlotte turned back and winked at Siegbert. He stuck his tongue out on her.

“Ah, but there  _ was  _ one thing that I thought was odd.”

Siegbert frowned. “What was that?”

“Well, it might just be me, but he seemed quite upset at the thought of not being able to be friends with you anymore. It was almost like he was asking me for his blessing,” Xander guffawed jokingly.

Charlotte and Siegbert shared a wary glance as they laughed nervously.

Though he knew he shouldn’t be this worried, Siegbert couldn’t help it. He knew that he and Shiro had been planning on coming out to their parents and relatives in a week when all of the families met up in Valla before their kids went back to school. But for some reason, he still couldn’t shake that lingering fear that his father still wouldn’t approve.

He sighed, trying to alleviate the feeling of nervous butterflies in his stomach. Nervous butterflies with razor blades for wings that were on fire.

Would telling Xander in front of all of his aunts and uncles be  _ worse _ ? What if he yelled at his son in front of all of his relatives? Siegbert shuddered at the thought. He’d absolutely  _ die. _

“Sieg? You’re awfully quiet back there.”

Siegbert smiled softly, suppressing all of these thoughts. “It’s nothing, Father. Just lost in thoughts, that’s all.”

“Hm.” Xander, who seemed to detect his son’s darker thoughts, said, “Well, why don’t you tell us about your play, since we missed it? Wasn’t Nina in it as well?”

Siegbert smiled. “Yeah! Oh, I was so nervous, but I did what you said and imagined the crowd as rabbits.”

“That’s great, son! Tell us more…”

 

When they got home, Siegbert’s parents left him to put his things away while they made dinner. Siegbert went straight up the stairs, not wanting to bother them in the meantime.

His old room was untouched save for the few times one of his parents may have entered in order to dust. His sheets and blankets were crisp and clean, his bed perfectly made. His desk was pristine, the book he’d finished just before leaving after winter break still laid on his desk, the bookmark still in the last page.

He set his bags down at the foot of his bed and fell face-first onto his mattress, breathing in the clean smell of his linen sheets. He smiled. He missed being at home.

While he was still taking in the warmth and softness of his comforter and the nostalgia of his home, Siegbert’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out to see a text from Shiro.

 

**Shiro <3 ** (5:30): Hey babe! Made it back to Shirasagi. Dad was absolutely thrilled to see me :^P

 

**Shiro <3 ** (5:30): Are u home yet???

 

Siegbert smiled.

 

**Sieg** (5:32): Yeah! I’m in my room

 

**Sieg** (5:32): About to have dinner with my parents. They’re downstairs

 

**Shiro <3 ** (5:40) Great! Hope u have fun babe

 

**Shiro <3 ** (5:45): We’re going to visit Mom now. Less fun. I’ll try not to cry this time haha 

 

**Shiro <3 ** (5:45): Ttyl <3

 

**Sieg** (5:46): Alright. I’ll text you when dinner’s done. Love you!

 

Siegbert shut off his phone and slid it back into his pants pocket as his father called. “Sieg? What’re you doing, son?”

“I’m just messaging a friend,” he answered quickly, hand flying to his phone defensively. “Why?”

“Dinner’s almost ready,” Xander said from behind the door. “We’ll be waiting for you downstairs, okay?”

“Y-Yeah, I’ll be there in just a minute.”

“Alright. Just checking.”

As he heard Xander’s retreating footsteps, Siegbert let out a heavy breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding, then immediately felt guilty. Xander hadn’t even entered the room, yet he was still anxious at even the  _ thought  _ of his second parent finding out.

It was exhausting.

 

Dinner was steak with several of his favorite sides, as Charlotte stated that she and his father had decided to splurge for their baby boy. While Siegbert had humbly stated they didn’t have to do that, his mouth still watered at the sight of alluring home-cooked Nohrian food. They sat and ate in relative silence, save for interjections when one of them asked another a random question and was subsequently answered. (“Xander, did you get all of your work done?” “Yes, dear, I’m having Peri carry out the rest of my duties until Siegbert goes back. And before you say ‘that sounds like a bad idea’, yes, I know.” or “Mother, can you pass the salt?” “Yes, son, but please watch how much you use; it’s not healthy!”)

It was just as it had always been before—  which was the way Siegbert liked it to be. The cafeteria meals he ate at school were admittedly not to his liking—  bland, and eaten in a crowded space full of loud, obnoxious, and rather uncleanly people. Even his boyfriend was no exception.

When the meal was almost done, Siegbert had finally built up enough courage for what he was going to do.

While his father was busy talking about the latest hilarious stunt Laslow had pulled at work, his phone rang. He excused himself and went to the other room. When he did so, Siegbert tapped his mother’s arm gently.

“I think we have the room to ourselves,” he said.

“Good. I was tired of hearing about Laslow. He’s a nerd,” Charlotte said as she cut her steak. A sly smile found itself to her face. “So… how’s Shiro?”

“Mo- _ ther _ —”

“What? Can’t I take an interest in my son’s love life?”

“My love life is as interesting as Uncle Leo’s taste in literature.”

“Don’t insult him when he’s not here to defend himself, Sieg! Then you don’t get the satisfaction of seeing him cry.”

Siegbert laughed. “Hm. Shiro’s fine.”

Charlotte looked at her son sympathetically, stroking a few loose curls in his hair. “You guys made up?”

“Yes. He was very understanding,” he remarked fondly. “I was so scared that he was going to be upset, but he wasn’t angry with me at all.”

His mother smiled. “You know, I love the look you get on your face when you talk about him.”

He blushed. “Wh— what do you mean?”

“You just look so  _ happy. _ You just get this look about you…” Charlotte giggled. “Your father used to look at me the same way, you know.”

“Really?”

“You bet. He was such a sweetheart when we first started dating,” his mother sighed affectionately. “We raised you to be a gentleman. I bet Shiro’s a lucky boy. After all, he’s dating the handsomest boy in Nohr.”

“ _ Mother.” _

“Heehee. I’m just teasing.” Charlotte patted her son’s head. “Why so tense, Sieg?”

“I… I’m thinking about telling Father.”

His mother’s eyes widened, a smile coming to her face. “Really?”

“Yeah.” He let out a deep breath. “I think it’s time.”

“Oh, Sieggy, I’m so proud of you,” Charlotte gushed, squeezing his face between her hands. “You can do it. I have faith in you!”

“Good, because I hardly have any faith in myself.”

“Oh, don’t be such a worrywart. Your father loves you. He’ll accept you no matter what.”

“I hope so,” Siegbert sighed as his father returned to the room.

“Sorry about that,” Xander said. “Just another mishap at work that I had to take care of. Gods, what a story.”

“Say, Xander, that all sounds  _ very _ interesting,” she said as she stood, knocking her chair away from the table, “but I think I need to excuse myself to the ladies’ room. Stay here with Sieggy, will you?”

“Of course, dear,” Xander answered. Charlotte leaned down to kiss her husband before walking out. When she reached the door, she flashed Siegbert a thumbs up and mouthed,  _ GOOD LUCK! _

Well. Siegbert was going to need it.

Xander turned to his son, smiling. “Well, are you happy to be back home so far?”

Siegbert laughed. “Of course, Father. I was so homesick when I first went to the academy.”

“I remember.” Xander reached out and ruffled his son’s hair. “But look at you now. You’ve grown so much braver. And you’ve grown taller, too. I think you’re starting to catch up to me!”

“Why do people keep commenting on my height?” Siegbert sighed.

“We’re just teasing, Sieg. It always happens to boys your age. Don’t worry too much.” Xander smiled. “I’d love you no matter how tall you are.”

Siegbert chuckled, but his face soon fell. Gods, was he really going to do this?

“Sieg, is something wrong?”

“Um…” Siegbert twiddled his thumbs nervously. “Father, can I… tell you something?”

Xander put down his silverware slowly, watching his son intently. “Of course. You can tell me anything.”

“And you… promise not to get mad, or… yell, or anything like that?”

Xander’s brow knit with concern. “Siegbert, what’s this about? You’re not in trouble, are you?”

“No, it’s nothing like that.” Siegbert sighed. “Dad… what would you say if I told you that I’m in love with someone?”

Xander blinked. “Is that what you’re so worried about?” he laughed. “Sieg, that’s nothing bad.”

“Someone who was… a boy.”

His father was quiet for a moment, eyes widening.

“Father,” he began, feeling his heartbeat, loud and pounding, in his ears, “I’m interested in men. Romantically. And I’ve known about it for a long time. A-And it doesn’t matter what you say, because it’s who I am, and nothing will change who I am or how I feel.” He blushed. “S-So say what you will, but I— I just wanted you to know that.”

“...Sieg,” Xander began. Siegbert closed his eyes tightly, preparing for the worst. This was it. His father was going to become angry, say everything that Siegbert was afraid to hear.

“Is that all?”

Siegbert opened his eyes, surprised by the softness of his father’s voice. Xander was still staring at him, but his expression had changed to a soft smile full of sympathy.

“You’re— you’re not angry?” Siegbert blurted.

“No. No, of course not,” Xander said. “Did you think I would be?”

Siegbert looked down at his hands. “I—  I don’t know. I guess I just… thought you’d think I was a... a disappointment.”

“Oh, Sieg. I could never think that. Especially not over something like this.” 

Siegbert’s heart fluttered. All that worrying had been for nothing. His father still loved him. Even better— his father  _ accepted _ him.

“Truth be told, Charlotte and I didn’t think you’d ever be interested in romance. Not that there’s anything wrong with that… but I’m glad you’ve found someone that makes you happy.” Xander closed his eyes. “I think I had a conversation like this with your uncle Leo once before, actually, when you were a baby.”

“You did?”

“Yes. I told him that sometimes, I wondered what kind of person you’d grow up to be. And who you’d come to love.”

Siegbert bit his lip. “What did you say?”

Xander looked at his son, smiling. “I told him that I just wanted you to be happy. Whether what makes you happy is a woman, a man, or nobody at all.”

His son smiled sheepishly. “You… you really said that?”

“Yes. And it’s as true today as it was fifteen years ago.” Xander put a hand on his son’s shoulder, smiling warmly. “I’m so proud of you, Siegbert, and nothing could change that.”

Siegbert felt tears begin to well up in his eyes. “Father…”

“I’m so, so sorry that you had to go through the fear of thinking I would reject you. I can’t imagine the pain of hiding oneself from their father… but I’m never going to be the father mine was. I’m so proud of you for having the courage to tell me, even though you were afraid.” He wrapped Siegbert in a hug. “I hope you know that.”

Siegbert buried his head in his father’s chest, gripping the fabric of his shirt as he began to cry. “Father… thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me, Sieg.” Xander pulled away, and Siegbert was surprised to see tears in his father’s own eyes as well. “You’re the most wonderful, precious thing that I have made in this world. Just the way you are. Please… don’t ever change.”

Siegbert sniffed. “I won’t, Father. I… I love you.”

“I love you too, son. Your mother and I both do, no matter what. I pray that you don’t ever forget that.”

 

“...Shiro?”

_ “Sieg! Hold on a second.” _ Siegbert was silent as Shiro shouted on the other end,  _ “Hey  _ DAD _! I’m going outside to talk to Siegbert! Go wait for soccer to come on or something. Don’t wait up. I dunno, maybe he just wants to talk? Jeez Dad, it’s not like he’s my friend or anything. No, of course that wasn’t sarcasm.” _

Siegbert chuckled, waiting patiently, though he was brimming with energy.

_ “...Alright, Sieggy, I’m outside. What did you want to talk about?” _

“I came out to my dad,” Siegbert grinned, running his hands through his hair. His heart was beating out of his chest, he was so happy.

_ “Aw, that’s great! I’m guessing he took it well?” _

“Better than I could have dreamed,” Siegbert sighed, falling backwards onto his bed. “He wasn’t even fazed at all, Shiro. I was so worried for nothing.”

_ “Ah, I’m so proud of you, babe! I’m so glad.”  _ Shiro paused.  _ “Did you tell him about us?” _

“No. I’m saving that surprise for when we planned it.”

_ “Heheheh, okay then. I can’t wait ‘til then.” _

“I know. Somehow, just knowing my dad accepts me… it’s boosted my confidence a lot.” Siegbert grinned. “I think I’ll be able to do it.”

_ “That’s what I like to hear! I just know you can. I believe in you, babe.” _

Siegbert laughed. “Thanks, Shiro.” He let out a long breath. “I’ve only been home for a day, but I can’t wait to see you again.”

_ “Same. But we’ll see each other in a few days. Don’t worry about me! Focus on spending time with your parents. I’m sure they’re ecstatic to have you home.”  _ Shiro paused. Siegbert could hear Ryoma’s muffled voice from the other end of the line.  _ “That’s Dad. He says that we should watch the game together.” _

“Leaving me for soccer?” Siegbert clicked his tongue. “Ah, fate is a cruel mistress.”

_ “Hey! Don’t judge. Soccer is  _ sacred _. No man will come between me and my love of the sport!” _

“Heh heh.” Siegbert smiled. “Bye, Shiro. I love you.”

_ “Love you too. See you soon, Sieggles.” _

With that, his boyfriend hung up.

Siegbert laid down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

He smiled, covering his face with his hands. Today had been a good day.

Maybe things would get better from here on out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? Worried for nothing! For now.  
> There's still two chapters left for me to ruin everything :^)))))) But for now, I'd like to bask in this chapter and how well things (finally) went for Sieg <3
> 
> (I call this chapter "The Xandad Siegcries"


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Siegbert and Shiro finally work up the guts to tell their families about their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, the penultimate chapter! Soon, this fic will be done... what ride it's been lmao  
> Also a disclaimer but remember that there's one chapter left for me to explain myself, so keep that in mind when writing comments (especially complaints)!  
> Also also, my beautiful, amazing, wonderful cousin Adeline is writing not one but two alternate endings for this fic, one from Shiro's pov and one from Sieg's! If you've ever wanted to see Shiro get thrown into a dumpster, it's the fic for you. Isn't she a stinker? I'll link them at the end of this chapter and at the beginning of the next chapter when the latter comes out on Sunday :^D

At Corrin’s house in Valla, things were hectic, to say the least.

From every corner, cousins ran around like there were no end to them. Corrin’s youngest daughter and Kamui’s son questioned the older kids constantly, which Siegbert found endearing but tiring. Aunts and uncles kept asking him about school and his grades and even his love life—  the typical pervasive questions aunts and uncles asked.

He was happy when he was finally able to retire to the guest bedroom he’d been assigned.

Siegbert jumped into bed the first chance he got, not bothering to unpack his bags. He was _so_ happy to get the first sleep he’d been allowed in the minutes that had felt like hours since he’d arrived.

He was _almost_ angry when he was awoken.

“Ugh…” he grumbled as he was gently shaken.

“Hey, guess who?”

Siegbert opened his eyes and smiled, looking upwards to see Shiro leaning over him. “Hey, you. C’mere.” Siegbert pulled his boyfriend’s face down to kiss him. “I missed you…”

Shiro giggled, hugging his significant other. “Aw, I missed you too.”

Siegbert sat up, sitting cross-legged next to his boyfriend. “How was spring break?”

“Fun! My dad ended up taking me to a Hoshidan-style hot spring in Ylisse for the break. It was really cool! They had a lady there who looked like the school bookstore’s clerk, but with blue hair. I think she said they were sisters?”

“Strange, I think I’ve seen some of her other sisters around, too.”

“Weird.” Shiro grinned. “What did you do over break?”

“Oh, my family didn’t do anything interesting. We just stayed home.” Siegbert grimaced. “Although, now that I’m out to both of my parents, they decided to give me _‘the Talk’_ , but revised to be more suited to me now that they know.”

Shiro clutched his stomach as he laughed. “Oh my _gods_.”

“They were quite well-informed, although it was really embarrassing for all parties involved. They meant well, but…” Siegbert shuddered. “I think they might’ve asked Uncle Niles about some stuff, which in itself is terrifying.”

“Oh man. This just keeps getting better and better.”

“I never want to experience anything like that _ever_ again. It was so humiliating, Shiro.”

Shiro wrapped his arms around Siegbert. “I’m sure it was. Don’t worry, though. I’m sure all of their worries will be alleviated when they find out you’re dating me!”

“Hm, I’m sure.”

“Oh, what? You don’t think they trust me?”

Siegbert chuckled and rolled his eyes. “You’re funny.”

“I know, I know.” Shiro buried his head in Siegbert’s curly blonde hair. “But I have a feeling that after tonight, things’ll be better for us, y’know? Our parents will know, they’ll love and accept us, and we can stop hiding it.”

“I know. I feel the same way.” Siegbert smiled and say up, putting him directly at eye level with his boyfriend. “Things are going to get better after tonight.”

“Yeah.” Shiro smiled, pulling Siegbert closer. “They really are,” he said before closing in for a kiss.

“Hey, is anybody in this roo—”

“Go _away, Kana!”_

 

***

 

The entire day, the two of them didn’t see each other. Shiro was too busy with his family, and Siegbert with his.

But, finally, they were reunited at the big interfamilial dinner. Corrin, Kamui, and Azura called all of their families to the big dinner hall, so they could all eat one last meal as friends and family before their children returned to school. Upon entering the dining hall, Siegbert tugged on Xander’s sleeve and asked, “Father, can I sit by Shiro?”

Shiro glanced over to where Siegbert was talking to his parents.

“Sieg, you’ll get to see him all throughout the last few weeks of school…”

“Oh, come on, Xander, the boy just wants to sit by his friend, let him have a little fun.” Charlotte nudged her son, winking. He glared at his mother. “I’m sure we’ve always embarrassed him enough to warrant a little break from us, no?”

“Enough for a _lifetime_ ,” Siegbert agreed, deadpan.

“Well, then, I suppose it’s alright.”

Siegbert smiled and waved to Shiro as he made his way over.

“You ready?” Shiro asked as Siegbert took his seat next to him. Their parents all sat next to each other, clustered in a group on the other side of the table.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Siegbert breathed. They took each other’s hands under the table, returning their focus to their family.

The meal went on without any incident; everyone was just happy to be together. Relatives caught up about their day-to-day lives, parents bragged about their children, siblings fought. All the while, Shiro and Siegbert waited.

Finally, the right moment came.

Everyone had finished their food, and the noise was starting to settle down. That’s when Shiro decided to grab his glass (of soda, rather than water, but it would do) and his knife.

“Hey, all you dudes!” he shouted, slamming the knife against the glass repeatedly, like he’d seen in movies. “Hey, we’ve got an announcement we’d like to make!”

Siegbert stood up nervously. The entire table began to whisper.

“What’s going on? What’s this about?”

“Maybe they’re announcing that they’ve decided on a college?”

“But they’re juniors…”

“Maybe they’re going to make a speech…”

Shiro cleared his throat, looking around the room. All of the cousins, except maybe the two littlest ones, knew what was up. Siegbert’s mom was smiling, flashing them both a thumbs up, while his dad’s eyes were widening, an eyebrow raised, though it was hard to tell if he’d guessed or not. Shiro didn’t look at his own father, waiting to savor that for last.

“Um, as you all know, Siegbert and I have been friends for a, uh, very very long time.”

“Eloquent, Shiro.”

“Shut up, Uncle Takumi. But I’d like you all to know, that our friendship actually ended a while ago.”

There was collective confusion across the table.

“Um, wait. That came out wrong. Let me start over. So, you know how you all said that Siegbert would never get a girlfriend? Well, you were _right!”_

Siegbert punched Shiro in the arm.

“Ow. Hey!” Shiro glanced back at the table. “I mean, uh…” he glanced at his boyfriend. “Siegbert?”

Siegbert shook his head, smiling. “Just breathe.”

Shiro hesitated, but then smiled. He reached out and took Siegbert’s hand, causing many eyebrows to raise. “Right. Well, I want you all to know…”

“We are, in fact not friends anymore,” Siegbert announced happily.

“That’s right!” Shiro grinned. “We’re dating, and have been for a long time. So, like, take from that what you will.”

With that, he leaned over and kissed Siegbert.

There was some silence.

Then, there was a shout of, “Yeah, Shiro and Siegbert!” from one of their cousins. And the table broke out in cheers.

Shiro smiled with his lips locked against Siegbert’s.

“We did it,” Siegbert whispered, looking Shiro in the eyes.

Shiro laughed. “Yeah.”

They turned out. Siegbert’s dad was clapping; he seemed a bit confused, but he was happy nonetheless. Charlotte was ecstatic, screaming, “ATTA BOY! THAT’S MY SON!” Aunt Kamui and Uncle Corrin were actually… crying. Their cousins were starting to swarm them. Beaming, Shiro finally turned to face his father.

Ryoma was still sitting, arms crossed, blank expression on his face.

Then, he turned, got up, and left.

Shiro’s heart sank.

_No. Come back! Say something!_

_Please…_

He watched as his father left the room without a word.

Shiro was devastated.

But when Siegbert threw his arms around him, and his relatives began to hug him and clap him on the back, he forced a smile.

Deep down, he was breaking.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

 

“Shiro?”

Siegbert had walked in at the worst possible moment.

Ryoma looked up at Siegbert, looked back down at Shiro, and shook his head before leaving.

Shiro’s shoulders sagged as his boyfriend approached him.

“Shiro… are you okay?”

He turned, still forcing a smile. “I’m fine.”

His boyfriend frowned sympathetically. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. We just talked for a bit. It’s… fine. It’s _fi—”_ Shiro caught himself as his voice cracked.

“Oh, Shiro.” Siegbert stepped forwards and wrapped him in a hug. Shiro buried his face in Siegbert’s shoulder, suppressing tears within the fabric.

“He… he said that he didn’t know what to think,” Shiro sobbed, shaking in Siegbert’s arms. “He said to just… wait to talk about it until he has time to think about it.”

“Oh, Shiro…”

“Why?” he hiccuped. “I—  I thought he’d be fine with it, l-like your parents…”

“It’s okay.” Siegbert leaned his head against Shiro’s own tenderly. “I know you’ve been waiting all this time, just to tell him, and for him to not accept you right away, or even show any signs of it at all…” Siegbert squeezed him tighter. “You don’t deserve that.”

Shiro sniffed. “Sieg… you shouldn’t have to deal with this, too. This is my problem.”

“Shiro…” Siegbert laced a hand in Shiro’s hair, swaying him gently. “You hardly ever tell anyone your true feelings… but you’ve been my shoulder to cry on for so long. I want to return the favor.”

“Sieg…” Shiro whispered, eyes welling up with tears. “I love you so much…”

“I love you, too. And it doesn’t matter what your father thinks, because nothing’s going to stop me from loving you. Ever.”

As Siegbert stood there with him, holding him and rocking him while he cried, Shiro let himself go. He cried just as much as he would when he’d visit his mother’s grave.

“Please don’t leave me,” Shiro whimpered.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Siegbert put a soft hand to Shiro’s face. “You’re the most important thing in the world to me, okay? You don’t need anyone’s approval for that.”

Shiro sniffed, smiling sadly. “It still hurts, though.”

“I know. But it’ll be okay.”

“But I just thought that… things were actually going to get better for us. He even said he’d try to be a better father… but… b-but… you… you really think it’ll be okay?”

“I know so. We’ve got each other after all, don’t we?”

Shiro paused. “Yeah. We do.”

“Siegbert, we were just coming in to check on you…”

Xander and Charlotte stopped at the door, staring at their son embracing Shiro.

“Uh— ” Shiro began, eyes widening.

“Mother, Father, I’m sorry to keep you waiting,” Siegbert began, stepping away from Shiro. He gave his boyfriend a sympathetic glance. “We were going to go on a family outing to the movies.”

“Ah, shit, sorry,” Shiro began to blubber, wiping his eyes. “Uh, sorry for keeping Sieg for so long, Charlotte. Xander.” He laughed hollowly. “Just, uh… some problems with my dad.”

Charlotte put a hand over her heart. “Oh, honey. Did he not take the news well?”

“Ah, ha… uh… I don’t think so,” Shiro mumbled, looking away.

“Oh, sweetie,” Charlotte said, approaching him with open arms. “I’m so sorry. Do you need a hug?”

“Mother, I don’t think that’s—”

Shiro teared up. “Yeah!”

“Oh, poor baby,” Charlotte cooed, wrapping Shiro in her arms. “C’mere.”

Xander crossed his arms, shaking his head. “We’re sorry, Shiro, but I’m afraid your father might just not understand.”

“That’s okay. We’ll be your parents now.”

Shiro laughed. “I don’t think that’s necessary, ma’am…”

“Oh, ma’am, schma’am. You can drop the formalities with us; you’ll make me feel old! Just ‘Charlotte’ will do fine.”

“Haha, o-okay.”

Siegbert leaned over and whispered to his father. “Dad, I think Shiro might need some cheering up. Do you think he could come with us?”

“That a great idea, Sieg.” Xander looked at Shiro. “What do you say? I know you might want to spend some time alone, but the offer stands regardless. It’s your call.”

Shiro was shocked. He had thought that Xander and Charlotte would threaten to rip him to shreds if he so much as slipped up while dating their son, but they were treating him like one of their own. It made him feel safe. Like he was at home.

He smiled. “I’d love to go.”

“Great!” Charlotte giggled, clapping her hands together. “Why don’t we let Shiro pick out a movie, dear?”

“Oh, that’s not necessary— ”

“I think that’s a great idea.” Xander spread his hands towards the door. “Well, why don’t you get your coats, boys? We’ll meet you downstairs in five minutes.”

“Yes, Father.” Siegbert took Shiro’s hand, smiling at him. “Come on, Shiro. It’ll be fun, no?”

Shiro let out a quiet laugh. “Yeah. Thank you, Siegbert.”

“Any time. And anything for you.”

 

***

 

The movie Shiro picked out was one they could all enjoy— a superhero movie based off of a popular comic book, one that they’d both read. Since they’d learned that Charlotte and Xander didn’t seem to care what they did as long as they kept it PG, they held hands and shared their popcorn the entire time.

“This dialogue is so cheesy,” Siegbert scoffed, rolling his eyes and tossing a handful of popcorn into his mouth. “Who wrote this?”

“The same guy who writes every superhero movie.”

“ _That_ explains it,” Siegbert sighed disdainfully.

“ _Shhhhh_ ,” Charlotte hissed, putting a finger to her lips and glaring at the boys before returning to the movie.

As they silenced themselves for fear of her wrath, Shiro leaned his head against his boyfriend’s shoulder. “Hey.”

“Yeah?” Siegbert whispered back, rubbing the back of Shiro’s hand with his thumb.

“Thanks for being there for me.”

Siegbert paused. “I’ll always be there for you.”

He felt Shiro’s head move as he looked up. “Do you think he’ll ever understand?”

“I don’t know. I _think_ he will. But even if he doesn’t, you can always come to us. We’ll always have a place for you with us, okay?”

Shiro smiled, putting his forehead to Siegbert’s. “You know… I couldn’t ask for a better place to stay.”

They leaned in, lips tasting like the profusely buttered and salted popcorn that sat between their seats.

“Boys, no PDA in the theater.”

“Sorry, Dad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember what I said; all will be revealed on Sunday...


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh... here it is. The last chapter. After all this suffering you've endured, because I am a motherfucker who feeds from the pain of others, and all the joy we've shared, because I can only feel pure unadulterated human emotions by writing other people feeling them, here it is... the end.  
> Special thanks to several people: my friend [Ryan,](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DetectiveRoboRyan/pseuds/DetectiveRoboRyan), who was an amazing beta until I unceremoniously dropped him without a word (I'm so sorry bud I forgot that you had agreed to do that so I'm making it up to you by linking your profile); my friend Nelly (do you... have an AO3?) for reading everything in advance and spellchecking the hell out of everything because my Microsoft Word expired, Google Docs sucks at it, and Grammarly doesn't work on Docs; my cousin [Adeline,](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BigFake/pseuds/BigFake) who wrote not one but TWO hilarious alternate endings to this fic (that I will like to all of you dw); and to [Hannah,](https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowysatoru/pseuds/snowysatoru) or "snowysatoru" (aka the person this fic is dedicated to!), for being the easiest fucking person in the world to emotionally destroy and making everything 10000x funnier for me :^)  
> And thank you, my readers! You're the ones who made this all possible :^D You're amazing, beautiful, can achieve anything you put your mind to, ~~are about to experience some feeeeeellllssss~~ and add spice to my otherwise-significantly-spicy-but-still-in-need-of-more-zest life. Go you!

“So have you started studying for finals?”

“Uh, duh. If I didn’t, Sieg would be on my ass about it.”

“I can’t believe your boyfriend has you whipped.”

Shiro rolled his eyes as he and Asugi walked into the residence hall. They’d just gotten back from practice; this one had been particularly grueling, as the weather had gotten  _ drastically  _ warmer. It was almost June, and that meant they had to practice in the grueling Vallite sun every day. Shiro was almost at the point where he looked  _ forward  _ to the end of the year— he was tired of his roommates yelling at him for stinky laundry. (It wasn’t his fault it smelled! It was just his fault that he didn’t pick it up until it formed a pile the size of two Kanas.)

“Maybe we can do a group study session in the library,” Asugi suggested as they turned into the residence hall commons area.

“I dunno, man… Ms. Nyx might still be mad at us for last time.”

“How long can one librarian hold a grudge? She acts like such a crotchety old lady.”

“Dude… she  _ is _ an old lady.”

“Whoa, really?” Asugi paused. “I should get Forrest to ask her what moisturizer she uses.”

Shiro rolled his eyes as they approached the front desk. To his surprise, Siegbert was there, talking to the receptionist and cradling a box in his arms.

“Sieg!” Shiro called, cutting off whatever Asugi had been saying as he ran up to his boyfriend.

“Oh. Hey, Shiro.” Siegbert smiled at him before turning to the receptionist to thank her.

Shiro eyed the box in his boyfriend’s arms. “I see you’ve already gotten our mail. Whatcha got there?”

“It’s a box.”

“I can  _ see  _ that, but what’s in it?”

“I haven’t opened it yet, genius.” Siegbert chuckled, shaking his head, blonde curls bobbing around his head. “It’s addressed to both of us, actually.”

“Really? Who’s it from?” Shiro asked, excitement in his voice rising.

“My parents.”

“Oh.”

“You don’t sound that excited,” Sieg laughed. “Don’t worry—  I’m sure it’s good.”

“I don’t know,” Shiro said hesitantly, “the last time one of your relatives sent something addressed to both of us, it was those ‘interesting informative pamphlets’ from your Uncle Niles.”

Siegbert grimaced. “Yeah… I’m not sure how he got those onto campus without the school staff noticing. Good thing we burned them before we got caught with them. Or Nina got ahold of them.”

“Hey, you  _ fucker _ ,” Asugi shouted as he caught up, punching Shiro on the arm. “Maybe you should stop making googly-eyes at your boyfriend and pay attention when your friend is talking to you.”

Shiro paused for a moment before wrapping an arm around Siegbert. “But… boyfriend time.”

Asugi groaned, facepalming. “Siegbert, if I ever do this around Shigure or Dwyer, kill me.”

“I’m not going to kill you.”

“You’re a bad friend and I hate you.”

“Um, I’m sorry,” the receptionist began, “but are you boys going to be leaving soon, or…?”

“Oh, yes,” Siegbert began, shifting the box into one hand as he picked up his school bag, “we were just leaving. Thank you again, ma’am.”

“Of course. Have a nice day.”

The three began to walk towards the stairs that led to their room when Asugi began, “So, what are your plans after summer break starts?”

“I’m going home and taking summer classes in Nohr,” Siegbert informed them.

“Hahaha,  _ what _ ?! You’re leaving school just to do  _ more  _ school?” Shiro chortled.

His boyfriend shrugged. “I want to get a headstart. Besides, less classes means I have more free time next year.”

“You’d best be spending some of that free time with  _ me _ .”

“Of course I will.” Siegbert smiled. “What about you, Asugi?”

“Dunno. Might come to Valla and live with my aunt and uncle for a while to spend time with Shigure and Dwyer. I need to get out of the house. Plus, Midori knows how to keep it lit.”

“I feel that,” Shiro sighed. "Well, the needing to get out of the house part. Not the Midori keeping it lit part." He rubbed his neck, frowning. “Dad and I haven’t spoken since spring break. I still think he’s… upset about my whole coming out.”

His friends gave him a look of pity. Siegbert put a hand on his shoulder. “If things get bad when you go home, you could always come to Nohr and stay with us. Mother and Father would be glad to have you.”

Shiro took his hand and squeezed it. “Thanks, Sieg, but I think I’ll be fine. I’ve got my aunts and uncles to look out for me if I need it. But if I really do need somewhere to go, I’ll take you up on that offer.”

“Anytime, love.”

“Hey, look, a convenient distraction,” Asugi said, pointing in the direction of Shigure and Dwyer, who were waiting for him in front of their dorm. “And with that, I leave you losers. Have fun.”

He ran up to the other two boys, who greeted him jovially before giving him a hug and walking out.

“So…” Shiro began as they entered their dorm. “Box time?”

“Box time.” Siegbert smiled as the two boys set the box down on Shiro’s bed and sat down next to it, working together to open it.

“...It’s a bunch of letters,” Shiro said, disappointed.

“Yep.” Siegbert smiled. “Surprise.”

“Wait— they’re for  _ me _ ?”

“Yeah.” Siegbert laughed nervously, running his hand through his unruly hair. “I, uh… thought you seemed kind of bummed about your dad’s reaction to you coming out.”

“Sieg, that was months ago.”

“I know, I know. But after we left the movies, I asked my parents if they wouldn’t mind doing you a favor.”

“So… what?” Shiro asked, taking the first of four letters out of the box. “Are these all from your parents?”

“Not… quite. Give them a read. I think that’s my mom’s.”

Shiro shrugged. “Alright.” He opened the envelope and unfolded the stationary inside, light blue with little heart designs on it. Definitely from Charlotte. He cleared his throat. “‘Dear Shiro: I know that when we last spoke, you were crying most of the time, so I never really got the chance to say this. I’ve known about your relationship with my son for a long time, but now that you’ve both come out to everyone about it, I can say what’s on my mind.

“‘As long as you’re dating my son, you’re a part of the family. You will always have a home in my house, and a place in my heart. I’ll extend every courtesy and kindness I reserve for my own child to you.’” Shiro smiled. “Aww, your mom’s so sweet.”

“Hmmm, that doesn’t sound like her. Read the rest of the letter.”

“Alright.” He eyes fell back to where he stopped. “‘But, Shiro, I must warn you: if you  _ ever  _ hurt my precious little baby boy in any way, shape, or form, just know that every pleasantry will be dropped right then and there. I will hunt you to the ends of the earth, and I will not sleep until the man who hurt my little Sieggy is in twice as much pain. Watch out when you turn eighteen in August, because then I will come for you  _ twice  _ as hard. But no pressure, okay? Love, Charlotte.’ 

“Uh…”

Siegbert nodded. “Yep, that sounds like her alright.”

“Should I be concerned?”

“Well, are you planning on hurting me?”

“No?”

“Then no.” Siegbert rifled through the box before picking up the next letter. “Here; this one’s from my dad. He probably kept it short and sweet. He told me he wasn’t big on these sorts of things.”

“Alright.” Shiro opened the next letter, written in crisp, neat script on a piece of stationary with Xander’s full name and the address of his workplace on it. “Hmm. ‘Shiro: I’m not quite sure what to say. I know that a few months ago you and I were not on the best of terms, and due to this I forbade my son from seeing you. I’ve discovered that doing so was wrong of me: not only because I’ve discovered why you and Siegbert were, or  _ are _ , so close, or because I’ve learned that I cannot control what company he keeps and I simply need to trust him— but because I had completely underestimated you and your importance to him. You seem like a fine enough boy, who takes responsibility for his actions and is true to his friends. I’m glad that my son has a partner in his life like that, who will look out for him and take care of him, but also one who makes him happy. While it saddens me that he felt as though he couldn’t tell me about your relationship at first, I am still happy for the both of you. Thank you for taking care of my son. Sincerely, Xander. (P.S., I’m fairly certain that my wife will have your head if you do anything to our son, so watch out for her.)’”

Shiro looked up. “Well that was  _ much  _ nicer. He didn’t threaten to murder me or anything.”

“There’s something else on the bottom.”

“Oh. ‘P.P.S., I contacted your father, by the way. I convinced him to write his feelings to you. His letter should be somewhere in this box.’” Shiro paused. “My… my dad?”

Siegbert nodded. “Yeah.”

Shiro frowned, reaching for the third letter with shaking hands. He knew he shouldn’t be so nervous about this, but he could feel the dread rising in him.

He stopped.

“Siegbert?” He said, looking back to him.

“Yes?”

“What if…” he swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat. “What if what he’s written isn’t what I want to read?”

“Well… I don’t know. I guess you’ll have to read it to find out.” Siegbert took Shiro’s hand, squeezing it reassuringly. “But if it’s not, I’m here for you. Okay?”

Shiro smiled. “Thanks. Uh... do you mind if I don’t read this one out loud?”

“Not at all, dear.”

“Thanks.”

Shiro took a deep breath, bracing himself for what his father had written.

 

_ Dear Shiro, _

 

_ I must say, I’m not quite sure what to say. I know we haven’t spoken since spring break, at your uncle’s house, and our departure from each other was not a very friendly one, I’m afraid. There were many things I would have liked to say to you, but when Siegbert interrupted us, I didn’t want to unload everything on you in front of him. Also, I’m very afraid of his mother, and didn’t want to interrupt when you left with his family because of that. But now, I have a chance to tell you what I didn’t get to before. _

_ So, allow me to make myself very clear. _

_ I don’t have a problem with you being attracted to men, nor do I have a problem with you dating Siegbert. I know that my initial reaction may have convinced you otherwise, but I can assure you, that was not my issue. I was, however, upset that you had kept all of this from me, after promising me the last time you were home that you would stop keeping so many secrets from me. I felt lied to, and though I know you had your reasons, it was a bit hurtful. To see my son having gone through a big part of his life— discovering who he was, and someone who made him happy— all without me, was a bit of a slap to the face. I needed some time to think about it, but I must have come off as distant and cold, and for that, I’m sorry. _

_ I don’t want you to go on thinking that I don’t accept you for who you are. And, yes, I’ll admit that I’m not too thrilled about you already having a boyfriend, but in my life, I’ve given so many people up. As the oldest, after my father, mother, and step-mother died, I was the only one left to give up my siblings, and one by one, I watched them all go; not only that, but I watched your mother go, albeit in a different way. You’re all I have left. And while I know you’re not leaving quite yet  (you still have another year to go), we don’t have the best relationship, and that’s something I need to fix. When you come home, I won’t yell. I won’t ask about your grades or things like that. What I will do is greet you with open arms like a father should. Like I should have been doing for years. And after that, we can start trying to fix everything that was broken after your mother died. _

_ If you want, during summer break, you can have Siegbert over sometime. Having someone who makes you happy over at the house might be good for you. I promise that I won’t bother the two of you _ _ — _ _ as long as you behave. A father’s got to keep his son in line, after all. _

_ Shiro, I hope that we can start things anew and make them better than they have been recently. I don’t want to lose the most important person left in my life just yet. And I hope that someday you can forgive me. _

_ I love you, son. Please remember that. _

 

_ -Dad _

 

_ P.S. I’ve included another letter written for you. Technically, you aren’t supposed to open it until your eighteenth birthday, but I’ll make an exception. I’m sure she’ll forgive me if you get it a bit early. _

 

Shiro stared in awe.

“Shiro? Are you okay?”

He nodded.

“What did it say?”

Shiro didn’t say anything. He pursed his lips, reaching for the last envelope in the box.

 

_ For Shiro, with Love. _

 

Siegbert looked at the last letter. “Who’s it from?”

“It’s… from my mom,” Shiro said. He knew it was, as he opened the envelope, because it still smelled like her favorite perfume, the words written in her same rough handwriting that they had been before she passed. He opened it carefully, for fear of tearing the envelope.

 

_ Shiro, _

 

_ If you’re reading this, I’m assuming that I’m gone. Your father and I decided to write these letters just in case, but I don’t think either of us ever thought the day would come so soon. _

_ Well, I guess you’re all grown up now, unless you or your dad cheated and you’re reading this before then, in which case, give him a punch on the arm for me, okay, kiddo? _

_ I’m sad that I won’t get to see this day. I wonder how life is going for you, or if you’re happy. I suppose you’re taller now, about to start your last year of high school, maybe with someone special in your life? I hope whoever that is makes you happy. Just remember to stick to your studies! I know you hate school, but if you don’t graduate I’ll personally haunt your sorry butt forever. _

_ I also wonder what your relationship with your father is like, too. I know the two of you were never as close as you and I were; between him working all the time and not always  being the warmest or fuzziest guy, I figure that without me there, things could only get worse. But try not to resent him too much, okay? He loves you just as much as I do. After all, writing these letters was his idea (he used to do it for me all the time, the sap). If you can, I hope you two can mend what was broken before. _

_ I know that my death was probably hard on you. Losing their mom would be hard on any kid. But it’ll be okay, alright? I’ll always be with you. The people we love are never really gone. I’ll always be with you, and you’ll always be with me. Nothing can ever change that. _

_ There are so many things I want to say to you that I can’t fit on one letter, but I think this is the most important: _

_ It’s alright, Shiro. Chin up, kiddo. _

_ Just remember that your mama loves you very much. _

 

_ Love, _

_ Mom♡ _

 

“Shiro?”

Shiro was snapped out of it by the feeling of Siegbert’s touch on his arm. His boyfriend’s eyes were full of concern.

“Ah…”

“Are you okay?”

He sniffed and nodded, wiping his eyes even though he knew it was too late to stop the tears. “Yeah.”

“Do you need a hug?”

“...Yeah.”

Siegbert wrapped his arms around him, pulling him in. Shiro buried his head in the crook of the other boy’s neck, reciprocating the hug.

“I miss her so much,” Shiro muttered with shaking breath racked with sobs.

“I know. I mean… I don’t. But I know,” Siegbert said as he rocked Shiro back and forth in his arms comfortingly. Shiro let himself cry into his boyfriend’s shoulder, holding him as close as he could. Every time he thought about what happened to his mom, he’d wanted something to hold onto. Now he had it, and it was the most comforting thing in the world.

Shiro drew back when he started to feel better, sniffling. He looked at the letter in his hands. “I can’t believe he’s been saving this for me. I never thought this kind of sentimental thing would be… well,  _ his  _ thing.”

“What did your dad say in his letter?” Siegbert asked. Shiro glanced at the other letter, resting peacefully in the box. He smiled.

“He accepts me,” Shiro said. “And he wants you to come to our house sometime over summer break.”

“Really?” Siegbert asked, eyes lighting up.

“You know, I used to dread coming out to him, but… I think that because of it, he’s finally starting to understand me. And I’m kind of starting to understand him.”

“Do you want to call your dad?”

“That could take hours. And we had that date planned—”

“It can wait. This is more important. And besides, if we cancel, that just means we can spend more time studying for finals. And gods know that you could stand to spend more time doing  _ that.” _

Shiro shook his head, grinning. “Siegbert, have I ever told you how much I love you?”

Siegbert began to blush as he smiled; the look on his face that he made still hadn’t changed from the first day Shiro had said it. “Yes, but it’s always nice to hear it.”

“You’re adorable.”

“Stop it. No I’m not.”

“There’s no one in the world cuter than my boyfriend.”

“Well mine’s going to be a little _less_ cute when I give him a black eye. Just saying.”

“You’d never do that! Besides, your weak nerd arms can do nothing to hurt me.”

Siegbert rolled his eyes. “Ugh. You’re insufferable, But at any rate… I love you, too.”

“Yay! But the date’s still on, right?”

“Sure. I’ll meet you in town at five, okay?”

“Got it,” Shiro said, pulling out his phone to call his dad. “Oh, and Sieg?”

Siegbert turned from where he stood at the door. “Yeah?”

Shiro walked up to him, leaning forwards and giving him a kiss. “Thank you so, so much.”

His boyfriend laughed as Shiro picked him up and pelted him with kisses. “It was nothing.”

“I love you, okay? I’ll be there in a bit. Meet you at the coffee shop?”

“Sure thing. And, I love you, too.”

 

***

 

Siegbert closed the door of their dorm behind him, leaning against it. He smiled, closing his eyes as Shiro’s muffled voice came from behind the door.

_ “Hey, Dad? It’s Shiro. I got your letter…” _

He let out a sigh of relief as he made his way down to hall to leave their residence hall. He’d been so worried about Shiro that last semester of school, but now it seemed like everything was going to be okay.

There were a lot of uncertainties, now— what Shiro and Ryoma would do now, or what he and Siegbert would do now that summer break was looming and senior year was just around the corner… or whether either of them would survive their finals in order for all of that to happen.

All that Siegbert new was that, for once, and for the first time in a long time, he was really happy. He wasn’t worried about the future, or concerned about his relationship with Shiro. He hoped Shiro felt the same, and though he had no way of telling, he was sure he did.

Eventually, Shiro met him at the spot they’d scheduled to meet, outside of the coffee shop as usual.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Is everything alright, now?”

Shiro crossed his arms. “Yes and no? I think Dad and I both understand things a little better now, but it’s never going to be perfect.”

Siegbert frowned. “But… it’s better?”

His boyfriend paused.

“...Yeah.” He smiled. “Yeah. It is.”

“Good.”

“...Thanks, Sieg.”

“Don’t mention it. Really.” Siegbert put his hands in the pockets of the letter jacket he’d unceremoniously stolen from his boyfriend and never planned on returning. “I just wanted to make you happy, that’s all.”

“Well, you did that and more.” Shiro kissed him on the cheek, taking his hand. “C’mon, let’s go somewhere else and talk about this. I’m sick of coffee. Don’t tell Dwyer I said that.”

“He had me blocked on all forms of social media after I said that Death Note is a subpar anime and he looks like L Lawliet, so I don’t think he’ll talk to me for a while.”

“That’s my boy!”

The two walked off, hands laced together. In that moment, nothing really mattered— not their families, not their friends, not a secret they had tried (but failed) to keep so desperately, not even the daunting knowledge that finals season was coming.

Right then, right there, all that mattered was them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure you're wondering "uhhh... what now?"  
> Well, don't worry! Adeline's two alternate endings are coming, as well as two secret new oneshots... AND some extra fics in the same boarding school au w/ other ships. Yep! Currently, two special girls are the focus of my planned next fic, whenever that comes out... And I'm not quite done writing about these two yet, either. *wink*  
> Thank you all so much for putting up with my constant spelling/grammatical errors, inconsistent writing, weird but present implications that Shigure/Dwyer/Asugi are a thing, and also all the emotional roller coasters people tell me I apparently put you all through! Now I have to go study, because I coincidentally have finals tomorrow. What joy!  
> See you next time, readers! <3


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